PHL wants in on P150-B Japan market for avocado

Eyeing the potential of Japan's huge demand for avocado, the Department of Agriculture will ask the Japanese government to open its doors for the Philippine variety.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol told reporters in a press conference on Tuesday that he would write a letter to Japanese Minister of Agriculture Yuji Yamamoto to allow a test shipment of Philippine avocado.

The idea is to know if Philippine avocado could pass the standards of the Japanese market.

"We want to get a slice of that huge market, which imports P150 billion from other countries," Piñol noted.

The Philippines holds the advantage in terms of geographical proximity to Japan.

"Japan is importing P150 billion worth of avocado every year, which comes from as far as Mexico, Peru, Chile, Brazil – countries which are very far from Japan," the Cabinet official said.

The Philippines also has the advantage of a better climate for avocado, Piñol noted.

"The Philippines is bent on developing the avocado industry in Mindanao. So far we have planted 374 hectares already," he said.

Uniform tariff on bananas

The Cabinet official said he would send a separate letter to ask his Japanese counterpart for a uniform tariff of 8 percent for Philippine bananas.

"I expect to sign a letter addressed to the Agriculture minister of Japan asking for the imposition of a uniform tariff of 8 percent for banana products and other fruits coming from the Philippines, and hopefully we will be able to convince the Japanese government to consider our request," Piñol said.

During the winter season, the Japanese government imposes an 18.5 percent tariff on bananas and 8 percent during off-season.

"This is a concern raised by our banana growers because they feel that if the tariff would be uniform they would be competitive and gain more profit," Piñol said. — VDS, GMA News