Phl needs to consider product standards prior to integration

CEBU, Philippines - To prepare for the ASEAN economic integration by 2015, the plastic industry should be able to identify the priority products that could be negotiated with neighboring countries to achieve standardization of products.

This is according to Philippine Plastics Industry Association, Inc. (PPIA) president Peter Quintana who pointed out that the unified market come 2015 is not just about the tariff issues on both finished goods and raw materials among industries.

Quintana revealed in an interview that other ASEAN countries particularly those with stiff product competition shall apparently impose harmonized product standards as means of non-tariff barrier for the sake of the free trade market.

“The absence of a product standard, if already harmonized, is a disadvantage. ASEAN product competitors could enter the country without restriction while the same goods cannot enter other ASEAN ports without complying with the harmonized standards to be established within the region,” he explained.

“Disappointingly, the Philippines has established only about 23 percent of the total number of existing ASEAN standards,” he added.

The Bureau of Product Standards of the Department of Trade and Industry (BPS – DTI) had the Philippine National Standard (PNS) on plastic mono bloc stools and chairs at present.

He clarified that those plastic products with PNS are mostly product standard testing procedures adopting the ISO international standards.

Plastic products range from flexible plastics, net, twine and sack, plastic bags or film products, PVC products, rigid plastics, styro products, tapes and recycled plastics.

It also varies in the form of plastic packaging, household and kitchen wares, pipes and fittings, medical supplies, school and office supplies, toys, decorative items, and agricultural support products that are made from a range of plastic resins.

Quintana said that the plastic industry is currently working out with the bureau for the PNS on plastic biodegradable bag products.

He, however, said that a national product standard takes time and even years to develop one. Further, it requires testing facilities that the country might not have.

“Now, this leads to the next question. Is the government ready to develop the standards on products that the industry would identify as priority? If yes, are we still on time,” he lamented.

Quintana then cited that the BPS-DTI should initiate meetings with the industry to start identifying the priority plastic products to be included into harmonization with other ASEAN countries. 

He said that the plastic sector should also manage to address the challenges of the industry which include the fragmented SME-based local players, lack of ordinance to support the industry growth and development, lack of appropriate government incentives and subsidies particularly on high power rates, difficulty in accessing capital for investments and operation, high lending interest rates, lack of sufficient infrastructure for efficient and low transport cost of goods and raw materials, bureaucratic red tape government procedures, difficulty in acquiring licenses and permits, and corruption among government agencies.

Such lapses, he added, should not impede the strengths of the sector such as the increased local demands from the strong market base in the country, high production capacity, superior product quality, innovativeness on products and processes, artistic creativity on product design, availability of competent and easily-trained manpower and technical labor force, and fluency of the Filipinos on the English language.

He said that the government, for its part, should review the tariffs and non-tariff barriers on free trade agreements on plastic products and raw materials to avoid tariff distortion. Legislators should also strengthen laws and policies to aid the stoppage of smuggling and proliferation of imported substandard plastic products in the domestic market.

Quintana added that the administration should work on granting appropriate fiscal and non-fiscal incentives for the development of the plastics recycling industry, improving the linkages on the supply chain of the sector, reducing power costs through subsidies and promoting technologies for efficient recycling processes.

He further cited that the country could start forging partnerships with local and international institutions for the development of the plastic industry in general.

“Once the industry roadmap activities will be realized as intended and schedule, then the Philippine plastic industry could stay ahead of the game among its neighbors and be prepared come 2015,” Quintana concluded. /JMD (FREEMAN)