Group suspects smuggling of Turkish flour into PH

MANILA, Philippines–Shipments of Turkish flour were allegedly being brought into the country as Indian flour to enable some importers to evade paying dumping duties, the Philippine Association of Flour Millers (Pafmil) said yesterday.

The incidence of technical smuggling was discovered when the Bureau of Customs (BOC) office in General Santos City found a shipment containing 1,800 bags of flour that were declared to have come from India, but were actually produced in Turkey, Pafmil executive director Ric M. Pinca said in a statement.

Flour from India is not subject to dumping duty and is enjoying a tariff rate of only 7 percent. In contrast, dumping duties of 2.87 percent to 16.19 percent are slapped on 13 Turkish flour milling firms.

Pinca said the company that imported the Turkish flour through General Santos City had allegedly undervalued its shipment by declaring an import value of only $318 per metric ton, as against the BOC’s Value Reference for Indian flour of $440 per MT.

The said shipment also reportedly lacked in iron fortificant, a violation of the Fortification Law that required all flours sold in the country to be fortified with Iron and Vitamin A.

It also lacked an identification of the manufacturer, which is a violation of labeling requirements under Republic Act 7394 or the Consumer Act. Products with labeling violations are slapped a 5-percent marking duty.

These technical smuggling activities, Pinca said, might also be occurring in the Port of Manila and Manila International Container Terminal Port, prompting the BOC to put flour items under “alert” status to ensure that importers were levied the right dumping duty.