Secretary William Dar of the Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) and Vice Minister Lee Jae-Ouk of the Korean Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) led the PH-ROK Bilateral Meeting in Agriculture on 28 November 2019 in Seoul, South Korea.
Among the topics highlighted during the bilateral included agri-trade and market access issues, and technical cooperation between the two countries.
During the meeting, Secretary Dar requested for MAFRA’s immediate completion of the Import Risk Analysis (IRA) for Philippine okra and the resumption of IRA for Hass avocado export to Korea.
MAFRA Vice Minister Lee asked for the entry of South Korean strawberries into the Philippines due to its huge demand among Korean nationals who are living in the Philippines.
Both sides agreed to expedite the earliest exchange of Philippine okra market access to Korea vis-à-vis the market access of Korean strawberry to the Philippines.
MAFRA also agreed on the request of Secretary Dar to facilitate the ongoing IRA for the Philippine duck meat and poultry eggs exports to South Korea.
In view of the Philippines’ avian influenza-free status, South Korea lifted its temporary suspension on Philippine poultry products to Korea and accredited new poultry processing facilities to export chicken to Korea.
South Korea is one of the leading food importers in the world, requiring almost USD30 billion food imports. In 2018, it ranked fifth among the top market destinations of Philippine agri-fisheries exports valued at USD 420 million, resulting in 26 percent growth since 2017.
The majority of food exports of the Philippines to Korea are fresh tropical fruits including bananas, pineapple, mangoes, and papayas.
Dar reiterated the Philippines’ interest to negotiate for lowering the Korean tariff for fresh tropical fruits (pegged at 30 percent) and processed fruits (pegged at 40 percent). Despite its declining market share, the Philippines remains a major source of bananas and the most preferred quality in the Korean market.
The Philippines used to capture almost 80 percent of the South Korean banana market but Ecuador and other South American banana producing countries are gaining ground because of their Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with South Korea.
With the ongoing negotiations for PH-ROK FTA which is set to be concluded in the first half of 2020, Dar appealed for the support from MAFRA on the Philippines’ request for lowering the Korean tariff for fresh tropical fruits and other agricultural products.
MAFRA agreed to look at the option of negotiating for the reduction of tariff lines for agriculture to agriculture commodities from both countries. ###
