The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) has increased the allocated quantity of raw cane sugar from the Philippines that is eligible to enter the United States at the lower duty rate under the World Trade Organization tariff-rate quota (TRQ) for fiscal year 2024.
As this developed, the Department of Agriculture (DA) has granted a three-year meat exporters’ accreditation to 99 companies from Brazil, Germany, Hungary and Poland following clearances issued by DA Inspection Missions, which visited these countries late last year.
The move further widens the country’s options in securing imported meat supply.
Based on USTR’s advisory, the Philippines was given an additional 25,300 metric tons (MT) on top of the earlier allocation of 145,235 MT and is now at a total of 170,535.
USTR’s fiscal year 2024 is from Oct. 1, 2023 through Sept. 30, 2024.
For fiscal year 2023, the USTR has allocated a total of 145,235 MT of sugar from the Philippines under TRQ.
The USTR also issued additional allocations from the previous fiscal year but has not given the Philippines an additional allotment back then.
Historically, the country maintains its shipments of sugar to the US as the latter provides TRQ that allow countries to export specified quantities of a product at a relatively low tariff, but subject all imports of the product above a pre-determined threshold to a higher tariff.
The Philippines is one of selected countries given with an annual allocation of sugar export to the US market at a premium.
Last December, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said up to eight producers, millers and traders have offered to supply 30,000 to 60,000 MT of raw sugar to the US market.
The Philippines last shipped raw sugar to the US market during crop year 2020-2021 involving 112,008 MT of commercial weight.
In a statement, the DA said its inspection missions found all 36 meat establishments in Germany, 48 in Brazil, three in Hungary and a dozen in Poland to be compliant with the animal health code of the World Organization of Animal Health as well as quarantine and meat inspection standards of the Philippines.
Exporter accreditation is necessary to ensure cattle, swine and poultry meat sourced from abroad are free of pathogens and other diseases that could pose a risk to Filipinos and the multi-billion-peso domestic livestock and poultry industry.
The 36 German companies are allowed to ship to the Philippines beef, pork and poultry meat, particularly chicken and turkey, while the 48 meat establishments from Brazil could export beef, pork and chicken, duck and turkey meat.
For Poland, the DA accredited 12 meat companies wherein six are for pork and another six for beef.
The DA also granted three companies from Hungary to export pork and poultry meat, including chicken, duck and geese, to the country.
DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in the orders he signed before leaving for Germany earlier this week that these foreign meat exporters must also fully comply with existing regulations and conditions provided in the orders and their annexes.
