Friday, October 12, 2007 JPEPA to 'lock in' $419 million agri exports
THE Philippines will be able to ensure the entry of $419 million worth of agricultural and fishery exports to Japan through tariff eliminations and other improved market-access concessions under the proposed Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA), the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Thursday.
Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap said that under Jpepa, duty-free tariffs of major farm and fishery exports to Japan amounting to $353 million will immediately be "locked in" once the agreement takes effect.
These Philippine exports, which are currently listed in Japan's General System of Preferences (GSP), include shrimps and prawns; lobster; fresh and chilled asparagus and okra; fresh guavas, mangoes, and papayas; coconut products like coconut oil, desiccated coconut, fresh young coconuts; and mixtures of fruit and vegetable juices.
Signed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and then Japan Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on September 9, 2006, the JPEPA requires the concurrence of the Senate.
The Senate foreign relations committee, chaired by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, is now conducting hearings on the JPEPA.
Under the proposed RP-Japan agreement, tariffs of major exports, ranging from 5 percent to 20 percent, will be eliminated immediately or within 3-10 years.
Such commodities include: octopus; mango (uncooked/cooked by steaming, frozen); tuna (whole/in pieces/not minced); small bananas (fresh); papayas (dried); and coco vinegar.
Yap said the Philippines will also be able to secure Japan as a lucrative export market for $66 million worth of farm exports as a result of tariff eliminations under the JPEPA.
Philippine products that will enjoy this advantage include live rabbits, ornamental fish, milkfish, mushroom spawn, eucheuma and carageenan, and glycerol, Yap said.
He said, "The Philippines can also potentially take further advantage of more open Japanese markets in which Japan is importing in large volumes and which the Philippines has little or no exports at this time but can potentially supply."
Some of these potential export products where Japan has offered market-access improvements include live eels and carp, beans, ginger, and processed meats like sausages, prepared/preserved pork.
"The import value of Japanese imports for such products in 2005 reached $763 million. Realizing just a 5% share of this market can help increase the value of Philippine agricultural and fishery exports by almost 10 percent," he noted.
As for Japan's benefits under the JPEPA, Yap said that "except for the five tariff lines of rice which were excluded from any tariff reduction commitments, the Philippines agreed to eliminate tariffs on all other agriculture and fishery tariff lines immediately for those non-sensitive products currently levied low duties."
These include six tariff lines for immediate tariff elimination, which Japan specifically requested, he pointed out. These are meat of turkey, meat of ducks, fresh grapes, apples, pears and quinces.
"Considering that Japan is not known to be a competitive exporter of agricultural products, we do not expect the influx of cheap competing Japanese agricultural imports as a result of JPEPA," Yap added.
