Flour millers ask gov’t to ban entry of cheap, substandard flour

Local flour millers are again demanding that government authorities stop the entry of cheap, substandard flour that is unfit for human consumption but allegedly is being passed off as bakery flour.

The Philippine Association of Flour Millers (PAFMIL) is asking the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Department of Health to tighten the noose on what appears to be an increasing volume of bakery flour of questionable quality that is brought by traders into the country and sold to bakeries and foodshops.

Ric Pinca, executive director of PAFMIL said that most of the volume coming in are from China and are either smuggled or brought into the local ports but are misdeclared as other commodities.

Pinca said some of the cheap flour from China include those with brands such as Camel, Elephant, and Panda.

"This unabated entry is not only illegal, aside from violating the country’s Fortification Law, it is being passed off as food-grade flour when in fact it is not fit for human consumption," said Pinca.

The Fortification Law or Republic Act 8976 mandates that all flour sold commercially be fortified with Vitamin A and Iron.

These flours do not go through inspection and previous testing by the DOH’s Bureau of Food and Drugs show they do not contain vitamins and minerals and other fortificants required by the DOH. "This is posing a health risk to consumers and causing the government millions in lost import duties. It is also hurting the already ailing local flour milling industry," said Pinca.

The cheap imported flour is now preferred by bakeries and foodshops because its about P20 to P50 lower than local flour.

Domestically-produced flour sells at P600 and P500 for hard and soft flours, respectively. Hard flour is used to produce pan de sal and loaf breads, while soft flour is for pastries, noodles and cakes, among others. PAFMIL is increasingly getting frustrated at the indifference of the BOC and the BFAD which are well-abreast about the situation. "There would be times when government would clamp down on the importers, but they haven‚t been consistent in guarding the entry of these substandard flour," said Pinca.

Last year, the country imported about 30,000 metric tons of flour which is more than half of the 14,000 metric tons that was shipped into the country in 2004.

Pinca noted that of the total volume imported, the share of substandard flour has been steadily increasing, and is agitating local flour millers which buy wheat and manufacture this into flour.

He said the value and volume of the importation are often misdeclared, causing the government to lose millions in foregone import duties.

Earlier, Pinca said the tariff on imported flour is seven percent with each container holding about 880 bags of flour although most were declared to contain only 350 bags.