Export leader bats for setting up of phyto-sanitary facilities in RP

The Agriculture Competitive Enhancement Fund (ACEF) must be used in setting up phyto-sanitary testing facilities and other technologies that improve the chances of Philippine food products from getting accepted in the global market.

The suggestion was made by Philippines Exporters Confederation, Inc. (Philexport) during the launching of green labeling in the Philippines.

Green labeling was adopted as a program by the Clean and Green Foundation of former First Lady, Amelita Ramos.

Records of the Department of Agriculture had shown that for the past two years, no less than P700 million from the ACEF funds was plowed into the sugar industry which has remained uncompetitive while nothing was used to improve the fighting chance of mango, banana and other proven winners in the international market.

"I must admit that in not a few instances, some Philippine products sometimes meet difficulties particularly in Europe and Japan, because back home, we still don’t have the testing technology to comply with the health and safety standards of our trading partners," Sergio Ortiz-Luis told representatives of government and environment groups during the green label launching.

He mentioned the case of okra, whose export of Japan was practically banned after a three-day quarantine was imposed by the Japanese government since February last year when tests showed that one shipment contained unsafe concentration of toxic pesticides.

Other Philippine ethnic food exports like bagoong and nata de coco encountered similar difficulties in the past.

The same facilities if set up with the help of environment NGOs, can also be used in testing food imports, he said.

"We don’t even know if the grapes, the apples and the luncheon meat we import are safe to eat," the export leader pointed out. Modernizing local facilities to meet sanitary and health standards elsewhere in the world is crucial in making Philippine goods more competitive, he said. – Philexport News and Features