WB to help improve PH food quarantine processes

The Philippine government has struck a partnership with the World Bank’s private investment arm for the improvement of inspections and quarantine procedures for various food products imported into the country every year.

Apart from saving millions of dollars through the elimination of redundant and unnecessary processes, the partnership is expected to help ensure the safety of food that local businesses buy from overseas.

In a statement Friday, the World Bank’s International Finance Corp. (IFC) said it was advising the Department of Agriculture, which was working to streamline its trade practices.

The five-year partnership, wherein the IFC would help in the implementation of international best practices for inspections of food products the country imports and food commodities it exports.

“The move is expected to improve food safety, benefit some 1,500 agribusinesses and save around $12 million because of reduced costs in complying with import and export safety requirements,” IFC said in a statement.

IFC said it would focus on streamlining trade practices and focusing inspections on goods that posed the highest risks to the “reputation of Philippine products.”

The firm said it would also help the department set up an online system for sharing data about risks found in agri-fishery products that affect humans, plants and animals.

“These trade logistics reforms are far-reaching and we want our decisions informed by feedback from our stakeholders,” Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said in a statement. “We want to say with a high degree of certainty that the imported and domestically produced meat, milk, fish and plant products that Filipinos eat are safe for human consumption.”

Alcala added that the partnership would also help make “Philippine-made” food commodities more competitive ahead of the integration of the Southeast Asian region in 2015.

IFC said it would also hold consultations this week with local agri-fishery businesses on how to improve the country’s border inspection procedures and combat pests and diseases in plants, fish and animals.

“The program will help reduce the cost of compliance with quarantine requirements and provide around-the-clock, real-time access to import and export trade data for better risk management and trade analysis,” IFC resident representative Jesse Ang said.

The quality of the country’s food products has been a constant issue for exporters looking to tap new markets, especially developed economies where strict safeguards against pests and diseases are in place.

In 2012, China cited “health reasons” for Beijing’s imposition of restrictions on bananas imported from the Philippines. Local banana exporters, however, attributed China’s restrictions to the ongoing territorial dispute it has with the Philippines.