The Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) expressed high hopes that Japan would consider its proposal for lower tariffs on banana exportation to further strengthen the country’s position in the international market.
DA Spokesperson and Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa mentioned in a press briefing Monday that was the foremost agenda discussed when the government agency visited Japan last week. The delegation, led by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., held discussions with Japanese legislative officials to push for lower tariffs on Philippine bananas.
Under the current Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (PJEPA), Japan imposes an 18% tariff on imported bananas in winter and an 8& tariff in summer. De Mesa said that these rates are exorbitantly high when compared with others imposed on banana-exporting countries.
Japan has not yet promised the lowered tariffs, De Mesa said, but the officials agreed to “reconsider” the proposal.
Apart from bananas, the Philippines strongly holds market shares in Japan for other exports, such as pineapples, mangoes, Hass avocados, and desiccated coconut. De Mesa emphasized that the lowering of tariffs is important for enhancing the Philippines’ export capacity and sustaining the agricultural sector.
The Philippines, being one of the main exporters of agricultural products to Japan, however, faces stiff competition from Peru and Ecuador, which now have a zero tariff under their trade accords with Japan. The Philippines’ share in the banana market in Japan reduced from just above 90% a little more than 10 years ago to 75% in 2024.
Countries often justify huge tariffs on imported goods to safeguard their agricultural production. With that notwithstanding, it is highly believed in the Philippines that the ongoing negotiations would eventually lead to a lowered tariff to safeguard the interests of Filipino farmers in the Japanese market.
