Competition in condiments industry turns sour

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

A LAWMAKER wants to look into how a giant condiments industry was allowed to swallow a small, Mindanao-based “suka” manufacturer.

House Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Development chairperson Teddy Casiño (Bayan Muna) filed House Resolution 577 to investigate the violations of Southeast Asia Foods, Inc. (SAFI), makers of Datu Puti Pinoy Kurat Spiced Tuba Vinegar.

Have something to report? Tell us in text, photos or videos.

This after SAFI allegedly copied the Suka Pinakurat of the Iligan City-based Green Gold and Gourmet Foods, Inc.

GGGFI's Suka Pinakurat is registered with the Philippine Intellectual Property Office in 2006, Australia’s Intellectual Property Office in 2008 and the United States Patent Office in 2009.

SAFI is listed as the manufacturer and distributor of Datu Puti Lines, Mang Tomas, Golden Fiesta Cooking Oil, and Nelicom Lines, among others.

"Here we have a case of a big player copying the successful brand of the small player and eventually trying to kill it,” the lawmaker noted.

“This is like Goliath versus David, with SAFI using its market power to undermine GGGFI and the Intellectual Property Office acting as an accomplice," he added.

Rendo del Rosario, one of the owners of the Suka Pinakurat brand, said there is already an existing monopoly in the condiments industry, citing that allowing the Datu Puti Pinoy Kurat is against the State’s responsibility to promote small and medium enterprises.

He shared that when the business started in October 2000, they made their product only in a small kitchen using a household blender and a hair blower. By shelving their products, their 120 to 140 employees are being deprived of income.

Casiño said “Datu Puti Pinoy Kurat” appears to violate Section 123 of the Intellectual Property Code (Republic Act 8293) which states that “a mark cannot be registered if it is identical or confusingly similar to an already registered mark. As such, it may be considered a trademark infringement, which is a form of unfair competition.”

“What baffles me is while the Philippine IPO has yet to act on the application for registration of the Datu Puti Pinoy Kurat brand, SAFI is already flooding the market, resulting in lost sales and other detrimental effects on the original Suka Pinakurat," he noted.

"Government has yet to do something to protect our small players in the face of this clear case of unfair and illegal competition," he added.

He urged the Department of Trade and Industry to prohibit Datu Puti Pinoy Kurat from selling their version of Suka Pinakurat until the matter is resolved.(Kathrina Alvarez/Sunnex)