Luben Q. Maragisan, BPI chief plant quarantine service said his agency requested the Japan Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) to let exporters of the tropical fruits use the two remaining and functioning vapor heat treatment (VHT) facilities pending Japan’s response to the official report submitted by BPI on the fruit fly infestation incident which occurred last October.
The country has lost nearly $200 million in export since Oct. 22 and continues to rack up losses with Japan’s ban on the entry of solo papaya and mango from Davao. Exports of these products prior to the ban average about 100 metric tons (MT) a month.
The MAFF prohibited the entry of these fruits after it discovered their portions of a shipment of 35,150 kilos of solo papayas by Dole Tropifresh Philippines were infested with fruit flies. The shipment was seized at the Kawasaki Port.
Another shipment from the same company was seized at the Kobe Port when findings showed the same level of infestation as in the Kawasaki shipment. Since the mango shipment was with the same solo papaya cargo, the MAFF also banned the entry of Davao mangoes.
Initial investigations conducted by the BPI showed that the incident occurred after one of three VHT plants being used to fumigate tropical fruits before being shipped to Japan and other destinations malfunctioned and failed to detect the fruit fly infestation.
MAFF has since then asked the BPI to investigate the incident and submit a detailed report.
At the same time, the MAFF has set new conditions before exports of these fruits can be allowed again. These include the sending of a team of quarantine officers from Japan that will validate the report of the BPI.
Marasigan said that since this may take time, exporters could use the other two VHT facilities which are functioning.
The MAFF earlier expressed doubts on the effectivity of VHT as a means to eliminate fruit fly infestation.
If the MAFF is satisfied with the results of its own investigation it will still have to monitor the VHT of solo papayas and mangoes for 90 days before it decides to allow resumption of exports to Japan.
The MAFF will also need to approve the measures and procedures the BPI intends to institute at the Davao VHT plant to ensure that such insect infestation does not occur in the future.
Earlier, Agriculture Attaché to Japan Joseph Sison warned that doubts on the effectiveness of the VHT could pose troubles for the Philippines, especially in its bid to penetrate other markets such as Europe, US and Australia. VHT has long been used by fruit exporters as means to fumigate and weed out fruit flies.
Australia for one is proposing another method, methyl bromide to fumigate Philippine bananas before these are allowed entry in their domestic market.
Also, the Japanese ruling coalition amended its Food Sanitation Law. The law calls for a country ban on shipments found to exceed the acceptable level of pesticide residue.The law gives Japanese government inspectors authority to ban imports of a specific commodity from a specific country totally if even just a single shipment of that product is found to contain excessive pesticide chemical residues.
Last year, Japan banned okra exports from the Philippines after one shipment from Tarlac was found to have exceeded the maximum tolerable level of pesticide residue.
Marasigan said however, the okra exporters have since then complied with the new levels act by Japanese health authorities and shipments were resumed last November.