Tax on single-use plastics seen raising prices of goods for consumers
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The head of a trade association of packaging firms said they expect the planned excise tax on single-use plastics to raise the packaging costs of goods, a price that will ultimately be passed on to consumers once implemented.
Asia Packaging Federation president Joseph Ross Jocson on Tuesday said this is what happened when the government banned the use plastic bags in the past and replaced them with the much more expensive paper bags.
“It was shouldered by the supermarkets and the department stores. But of course, this is eventually passed on to the consumers,” Jocson said in a press conference for the upcoming Propak Philippines, one of the country’s biggest trade fairs about the packaging industry, next month.
READ: House OKs bill imposing P20-per-kg tax on single-use plastics
In March last year, the Department of Finance said that it estimates that P31.52 billion will be generated from 2025 to 2028 for this planned tax.
Under the DOF’s proposal, the price of “labo” bags per piece will slightly increase from 47 centavos to 82 centavos, while “sando” bags will be priced at P0.51 to P 0.91 each.
Despite this challenge they see in the horizon, Jocson said they reman optimistic for the industry in 2025, drawing hope from the continued expansion of manufacturing firms which make use of their packaging products.
He said that big manufacturers, such as San Miguel, Unilever, and Nestle, are expanding their local facilities.
“Once their industry grows, the packaging follows,” he said during the same event.
Meanwhile, the fifth edition of Propak Philippines has been set from February 12 to 14 at the World Trace Center Metro Manila, marking the continuation of a yearly event for the processing and packaging industry.
More than 250 exhibitors and brands from the Philippines and over thirty other countries around the world are expected to participate according to the organizer, Informa Markets.
“It is our mission that ProPak Philippines gathers the most innovative and sustainable, yet cost-effective processing technology, packaging technology, and packaging solutions for the country from our exhibitors and partners in the Philippines and around the world,” said Informa Markets Country General Manager Rungphech ‘Rose’ Chitanuwat.
