Banana stakeholders act to strengthen industry

MANILA, Philippines - The Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) has asked to strengthen the sector by adopting a code of good practices to make the industry fully compliant with local and international labor standards.

At the same time, the PBGEA has called on the Aquino administration to launch trade missions to Iran, Japan, South Korea and China to boost imports of Philippine bananas and secure favorable treatment such as the reduction or elimination of import tariffs.

PBGEA executive director Stephen Antig said adoption of the code   is “timely and much-needed” to make the Philippine banana industry “the epitome of industrial peace and social concord.” 

Antig said the code is a product of the combined efforts of the Department of Labor and Employment-Region XI, the Department of Agriculture-Region XI, the Philippine Quarantine Services, the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Agrarian Reform, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines and the various participating cooperatives of agrarian reform beneficiaries, independent banana growers and major exporters.

The code calls for the establishment of a tripartite council that will formulate strategies and initiatives to enable the stakeholders of the industry to achieve the objectives of the code.

Stakeholders of the banana industry have strongly condemned the practice of “pole-vaulting,” which is the practice of some contract growers to deliver their produce to third parties. Such practice constitutes a breach of contract by the grower and a violation of the anti-fencing law on the part of the buyers.

“It is deleterious to the industry and a threat to the global reputation of quality of Philippine bananas,” Jalilo de la Torre, DOLE regional director, said.

Meanwhile, PBGEA president Alexander N. Valoria said “there is a need for a trade mission to Japan with the objective of reducing Japanese tariff on Philippine bananas as it has been 20 years since Japan last reduced said tariff to current levels, while the country continued to reduce tariff on Japanese goods and recently on Japanese cars.”

Valoria pointed out that Japan and South Korea enjoy a huge trade surplus with the Philippines. He expressed that both countries would, thus, be amenable to reducing or elimination of the tariff on Philippine bananas.

PBGEA chairperson Madeline Marfori, urged the government to take the lead in improving the capabilities of the small banana growers in the production of world-class bananas as “most of them at present are having difficulties in coping with the global standards for quality bananas.”