Monday, February 12, 2007 Agri exec defers okay on carrot importation By Jane Cadalig
BENGUET farmers have more reasons to prepare for competition as Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap assured he would not sign an administrative order (AO) on carrot importation yet.
Yap said the AO that would legalize the entry of carrots to the country could not yet be issued since it still has to go through the process.
The Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) has already endorsed the pest risk analysis conducted on Chinese carrots to Yap's office. The next step after this is supposedly the issuance of the AO that would provide the guidelines on carrot importation.
But the agriculture secretary said: "I can't sign (the AO) until a complete consultation process is done."
He, however, said it would not be possible to prohibit the importation of carrots to the country as these are among the commodities that were deregulated when the Philippines became a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Earlier, La Trinidad Mayor Nestor Fongwan said he would seek an audience with Yap to request for the deferment of the AO signing.
Fongwan said aside from the diseases found in carrots, there is a need to implement mitigating measures to contain the possible spread of these diseases to the local agricultural setting.
Until all the issues raised by the farmers during the stakeholders consultation at the DA main office in December are addressed, the mayor stressed that carrot importation should not be allowed.
