Friday, October 06, 2006 Cargoes from CIP now ‘welcome’ in Australia
CARGOES from the Cebu International Port (CIP) will not be subjected anymore to giant African snail (GAS) inspections.
This, after the Australian Quarantine Inspection Services (Aqis) de-listed the Philippines from their GAS risk list.
The Philippine Exporters Confederation Cebu (Philexport-Cebu) had been exerting efforts to communicate and confirm with Aqis the effects of the de-listing of Cebu in the GAS-risk list of Aqis.
Louise Willmington, supervisor of GAS National Coordination Center for Aqis Import Clearance, confirmed the de-listing of the Cebu Port, according to a statement from Philexport-Cebu.
“I can confirm that as of the 1st of July 2006, the Philippines has been removed from the Aqis GAS country action list,” according to the official reply of AQIS to the e-mail inquiry of Fred Escalona, executive director of Philexport-Cebu.
Convenience
Philexport-Cebu president Allan Suarez, for his part, said the new development is a “very good news” for Cebu exporters, who have markets in Australia.
“Imagine the convenience of shipping their goods directly from the CIP, instead of transshipping these through the Manila ports. The savings in terms of time, money and effort are indeed very beneficial to all our stakeholders, including the CIP, the Oriental Port and Allied Services Corp., and the truckers,” he said.
Vigilance
Suarez however urged stakeholders to work together to maintain clean and pest-free ports in the country, including the container yards and container holding areas of exporters.
“We cannot be complacent now that we are considered a compliant country for GAS. We should exercise vigilance and avoid getting black-listed again in the future by maintaining pest-free surroundings, especially in areas that are vulnerable for GAS infestation,” he said. (JBN)
