Monday, April 21, 2008
DOF, DTI asked to lobby for tariff reduction
LOCAL bakers have found an ally in lobbying for the government to reduce wheat and flour importation tariff rates for them to cope with the rising cost of making bread.
Cebu City Councilor Arsenio Pacaña has urged the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Finance (DOF) to listen to their plea.
Cebu Bakers Association president Christopher Ebisa earlier said it is now hard for bakery owners to earn without increasing the prices of their products.
He added that if the country has a local supply of wheat instead of depending on imports, there would have been no problem.
In a radio dyLA interview, Julie’s Group of Companies chief executive officer Roberto Gandionco asked that the government come up with ways to reduce import duties and taxes.
He noted that the price increase is due to the high demand for bread products and low flour supply. The US is the country’s main source of wheat, from which flour is derived.
Pacaña observed that prices of wheat have jumped 149 percent since April 2007, and 50 percent since December last year.
“As a result, a 25-kilogram bag of flour now costs P900, or a (55) percent increase from P580, prompting bakers to also increase the price of bread by 25 percent,” he said.
In a proposed resolution, the legislator reminded DTI and DOF that when prices started increasing last April 15, the Cebu Bakers Association reiterated its request for the government to provide relief to those in the bread and pastry business.
“The increase in food prices, which is expected to last up to year 2010, is enough reason, according to an economic analyst, for the government to seriously consider the adoption of counter-measures, such as the reduction of tariffs on wheat or flour,” he said.
“(This is) to temper, if not address, the impending food security problem,” he added. (NRC)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (April 21, 2008 issue)
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