Agri goods transport delayed by bad weather, says DA chief

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. —File photo by Marianne Bermudez | Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines — Unfavorable weather has caused the delayed shipping and delivery of imported farm products in the Philippines, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said in a statement on Tuesday.

“The delay was caused by force majeure,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said, pointing out that several storms and weather disturbances, including recent typhoons, stalled the release of imported agricultural goods.

The DA is considering adding requirements before issuing import permits through its bureaus — including the Bureau of Animal Industry and the Bureau of Plant Industry — to ensure the immediate delivery and sale of imported food products.

Import permits are official documents the government gives eligible traders that allow them to source agricultural commodities from abroad for use in the country.

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This ensures that these goods comply with safety, quality, and health standards and prevent the spread of pests or animal diseases.

Tiu Laurel also said it is closely coordinating with the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) to ensure local food supply and food security.

“This would help up improve our supply and price forecasting and avoid artificial shortages caused by product hoarding. Data that we will gather will also help us determine which importers to blacklist, if needed,” he added.

Tiu Laurel made the pronouncement as the PPA earlier said that 888 container vans loaded with approximately 20 kilograms of rice had been sitting in Manila ports, with some of these stored for months, as consignees were deferring their withdrawal.

In a Palace briefing this week, PPA General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago said that there was no congestion at the ports although they suspected that some consignees were timing the release of their shipments to levy higher charges and save on storage costs.

Of the 888 “overstaying” container vans, some 300 container vans have been pulled out by their consignees. Santiago said more consignees were expected to pull out their container vans before the end of this month.

Santiago also said that by Oct. 1, the PPA would submit report to the DA on the overstaying imported agricultural food prices and ask the BOC to declare these shipments as abandoned for proper disposition.

He said the PPA and the DA would continuously monitor food shipments to better manage the movement of containers in various seaports nationwide.