Favila asks Japan trade minister’s help on exports of smoked frozen tuna

Trade and Industry Secretary Peter B. Favila has asked the help of Japanese Economic and Trade and Industry Minister Toshihiro Nikai to get a fair hearing from Japanese Health officials on the request of Philippine exporters for a reconsideration of Japan’s ban on smoked frozen tuna.

Favila spoke with Nikai at the sidelines of the Asean Economic Ministers meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

However, Favila admitted that "we have no guarantees from the Japanese side, but it was a good meeting because Minister Nikai’s help could lead to a review of the testing by the Japanese quarantine agencies."

The testing, Favila said, "would be a confidence-building measure at the very least, and may even lead to a re-opening of the trade (with Japan)."

Trade officials accompanying Favila acknowledged that there is still a hard fight ahead for the petitioning Philippine exporters, given Japan’s extreme sensitivity over the safety of their consumers and the strict Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) regime that Japan maintains to enforce consumer safety.

"You should never pre-judge the outcome of such test reviews, but it was a good meeting," said the officials, "because it shows how the relationship between the two countries can win for us a good re-visitation of the issues involved."

Favila and his officials expect that with Minister Nikai’s help, there might be a possible re-testing of the concerned products.

Concerns had been raised about the toxicity of the product given the carbon monoxide used in the smoke freezing process.

One of the most controversial issues in the realm of SPS measures: how much of the questioned substance should a quarantine authority declare as the maximum allowable to strike a fair balance between safety of the consumer on one hand and trade concerns on the other.