Business groups welcome Palace issuance of AO 13
Business groups on Wednesday welcomed President Rodrigo Duterte’s issuance of Administrative Order (AO) 13, which lifts non-tariff barriers and streamlines procedures to facilitate the importation of agricultural commodities.
In a joint statement, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), Philippine Exporters Confederation (Philexport) and Philippine Food Processors and Exporters Confederation said the move would address the growing concern on inflation that negatively affects consumers.
The business groups said they wrote a letter to the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) on September 26, which reiterated an appeal to allow the importation of initially 100,000 metric tons of sugar “for exclusive use of domestic food processors.”
This is the third letter the group sent to the SRA.
“We are now awaiting for the mechanics of this AO 13,” the letter said.
The group, citing AO 13, said President Duterte had directed the National Food Authority (NFA), Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) and the Department of Agriculture (DA), in coordination with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), to lift non-tariff barriers and streamline administrative procedures in the importation of such products.
Among others, “the agencies were told to … temporarily allow direct importation of sugar-using industries to cut their input cost.”
The groups, however, said they had not received any feedback from the SRA on the letters. They are however “optimistic” that with the issuance of AO 13, the SRA will adhere and implement the order.
Local food processors earlier expressed concern over the “prohibitive cost” of refined sugar in domestic market thereby making them uncompetitive against sugary food products from other Asean countries.
Food processors argued that under the Free Trade Agreement, sugar-based food products from the region enjoyed preferential tariffs of five percent, further noting that food processors from Asean buy their sugar at the equivalent of P26 to P28/kilo.
“While we agree that our farmers need some assistance, we can no longer justify cuddling an industry at the expense of the greater majority of Philippine consumers and food manufacturing sector that are bearing the brunt of the high cost of this protection. This situation has likewise become a breeding ground for smuggling,” the groups said.
Currently, there are 4,000 to 5,000 domestic food processors using sugar as ingredient.
The business groups said around 50-60 million consumers and stakeholders would take the brunt of high cost of sugary made products compared to the 50,000-60,000 farmers, which can be given alternative source of livelihood by shifting to high value crop production.
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