The Department of Agriculture (DA) said talks with the Japanese government have started for more favorable tariff rates on bananas from the Philippines.
The agency said in a statement on Sunday the talks started when a DA delegation led by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. and the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association met with counterparts in Japan earlier this month.
The DA said the Philippines is negotiating for a better tariff agreement with Japan, given that Philippine banana exporters have been paying tariffs for such exports while Cambodia, Laos, Mexico and Vietnam either enjoy preferential tariffs or pay none at all.
Philippine banana exporters paid an 18 percent tariff from April to September in 2024 and an 8 percent tariff from October 2024 to March 2025 in Japan.
The agency urged Japan to review its tariffs on Philippine bananas and consider that bananas are a staple for Japanese consumers who get about 75 percent of their annual consumption or yearly demand of 1 million metric tons from the Philippines. This means that out of every four bananas consumed in Japan, three came from the Philippines, making the Filipino growers its biggest banana suppliers, the DA said.
That Philippine market share has even declined from the previous ratio of 9 out of 10 bananas consumed in Japan, or 90 percent of the yearly Japanese demand.
“The banana industry is a lifeline for thousands of (Filipino) farmers and workers, especially in Mindanao, where it serves as a major economic pillar… To sustain and expand this industry, we must push for tariff reductions on our bananas. This will not only attract greater investment in banana production but also drive poverty alleviation, job creation and security in Mindanao,” Tiu Laurel explained.
The DA said current tariff rates imposed by Japan for bananas from the Philippines have been set in accordance with the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) signed in 2006.
The DA said Tiu Laurel met with Hirofumi Takinami, Japan’s State Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama to discuss a potential review of the JPEPA, “in light of shifting global economic conditions.”
“We hope to come up with a common solution with stakeholders to address the tariff issue and negotiate mutually beneficial terms with the Japanese government under the JPEPA,” Tiu Laurel added.
DA emphasized the importance of bananas as a vital export commodity for Mindanao, generating over $1 billion in annual sales and providing livelihoods to more than 700,000 Filipinos.
The DA also assured continued support for banana growers suffering from the fusarium wilt tropical race 4 disease in the soil.
The banana plant disease, more commonly known as the Panama disease, is caused by the soil-borne fungus fusarium oxysporum that enters the banana plant’s roots and colonizes the xylem vessels, blocking the flow of water and nutrients, which can cause the wilting and death of the crop.
Based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, the country produced a total of 8.7 million metric tons of bananas in 2024, 3.5 percent less than 9.02 million MT in 2023.
Meanwhile, 4.48 million MT or 51.5 percent of the total banana production for 2024 was of the Cavendish variety, which is the main type of the fruit being exported to other countries.
