PhilFida wants to regulate fiber imports

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Fiber Industry and Development Authority (PhilFida) wants to regulate the entry of imported fiber in the country to shield farmers from foreign competition and provide them with higher prices.

PhilFida executive director Arnold Atienza said they are looking at the possibility of regulating the imports through an issuance of an executive order (EO) by President Marcos.

Atienza said PhilFida is still at the initial stage of reviewing and studying all possible legal options on how to implement the policy measure.

“If possible, zero imports, especially for abaca. Why are we importing abaca if we have too much abaca?” he said in a press briefing yesterday.

The new PhilFida chief is tinkering with the fiber import rules of the country as a way to drive demand for locally produced fibers, especially abaca.

Atienza added that he even supports higher imported fiber prices so that demand would shift to locally produced fibers.

Abaca fiber imports last year rose by 30 percent to 3.32 million kilos from 2.56 million kilos in 2023, based on Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data.

PhilFida is also studying the possibility of lobbying for the issuance of another EO that would expand the agency’s mandate by including marketing responsibilities.

At present, the agency does not have any marketing powers, which Atienza pointed out, is detrimental to the promotion of locally produced fiber and fiber products.

Furthermore, Atienza said they target to stop the downward trend in the country’s abaca production this year.

Abaca output last year fell by four percent to 43,000 metric tons from 45,000 metric tons in 2023, PhilFida data showed.

Abaca is one of the prized agricultural products of the country, raking in over $100 million in export receipt in the past decade.

PhilFida is also keen on creating domestic demand to guarantee a market for farmers’ produce that has been over-reliant on the foreign market, Atienza said.

The agency is proposing to double its budget next year to over P1.2 billion from its current funding of almost P600 million to achieve its targets.

The proposed budget would cover production support, research and development and regulatory services to boost fiber production and mechanization, according to the agency.