DA said that the agricultural import process needed to be simplified

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. directed the Department of Agriculture (DA) to facilitate the import process of agricultural products, including by allowing industrial users to import sugar directly.

Signed by Mr. Marcos on April 18, Administrative Order (AO) No. On October 20, the DA, in coordination with the Departments of Finance and Commerce, directed “to take measures to improve the administrative procedures and policies on imports of agricultural products and remove non-tari tariffs.Ff barriers.”

Non-tariff barriers are policies that restrict trade, such as quotas, import licensing systems, regulations and red tape, among others.

“It is imperative to further streamline administrative procedures to promote transparency and predictability of agricultural import policies to help ensure food security, maintain sufficient supply of agricultural products on the domestic market and support local production improve,” said Mr. Marcos. in the order.

Mr. Marcos instructed the prosecutor general and the Commerce and Finance departments to streamline the procedures and requirements for licensing importers. Licensed merchants will be exempt from filing these requirements.

The departments should also facilitate the importation of “certain agricultural products” beyond the authorized minimum entry volume, and eliminate or reduce administrative costs, in consultation with the Committee on Tari of the National Economic and Development Authority.Ff and related matters.

The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) was also directed to streamline and standardize existing guidelines within 30 days of the order taking effect. It was also intended to “allow more traders to participate in the sugar import program.”

“The guidelines will, among other things, provide rules and regulations regarding the classesFication or automatic classification of imported sugar, as well as direct import of sugar by SRA-registered industrial users,” the order said.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jose Ma. Clemente S. Salceda said the order, if fully implemented, will “opening up the import of sugar to direct industrial users.”

“That could put an end to the stagnation of the food production sector,” he said in a press release. “Currently, sugar prices in the Philippines are the highest in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations).”

According to the order, the DA and its agencies were to streamline the requirements for the issuance of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Import Permits (SPSIC). All SPSIC applications not responded to within the prescribed time frame will be “deemed approved,” the order said.

The DA was also tasked with reviewing and revising the rules and regulations governing the importation of frozen products Fis and Ffish/aquatic products for wet markets during closed and oFF-Ffishing seasons or during emergencies, “in particular, provisions imposing quantitative restrictions on the importation of fish, restricting competition and participation in international trade, and restricting the species that may be imported.”

“The AO will also poke holes in speculative bubbles in the price of Fish, which has a high non-tari contentFf protection, such as the CertiFicate of the need to import,” Mr Salceda said.

The Bureau of Customs was also directed to prioritize the unloading and release of imported agricultural products.

A ‘supervision team’ was also established to, among other things, monitor the import and distribution of agricultural imports and prevent price manipulation. The team will be led by the prosecutor and will include members of the Ministries of Finance, Interior and Local Government, and Justice, as well as the Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation, and Philippine Competition Commission.

Mr. Salceda said the Philippines has one of the highest levels of protection for its domestic goods, with a protection level of about 27% as a percentage of agricultural revenues for all agricultural goods.

InFGrowth accelerated from 3.4% in February to 3.7% annualized in March, but slower than the 7.6% in the same month last year.

Eat insideFThe increase rose to 5.7% in March, the fastest increase in four months or since the 5.8% in November 2023. Rice inFInflation rose to 24.4% in March, also the fastest since the 24.4% printed in February 2009. — KATAtienza