Government sees ‘billions of dollars’ worth of deals after Duterte’s Japan trip

TOKYO – With President Duterte’s three-day visit here, the administration is hoping to strike multibillion-dollar deals involving agriculture and power.

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said three Japanese firms – Osaka Gas, JFE Engineering and Yazaki Torres have expressed interest in investing in the Philippines on the back of strong confidence in President Duterte’s leadership.

On the energy side, JFE’s proposed biomass project is seen to cost about $373.25 million.

Cusi also expects the Osaka Gas project to run to “billions of dollars.”

“We are encouraging them to put up in the Philippines to provide employment and that is something new for the Philippines. But they have requirements – one of them is the energy cost – very high compared to our neighbors,” Cusi said.

Another deal that is expected to be signed is worth $220 million involving  the export of 20 million boxes of bananas a year from Manila to many parts of Japan.

Duterte will witness today the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the government and banana importer Farmind Corp.

The President has said he would take up with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe the lifting the 18 percent tariff imposed on

Philippine bananas. Tariff rates for bananas to Japan range between 8.5 to 18.5 percent.

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said concerned officials were supportive of the President’s call to put zero tariffs on Philippine bananas.

“There are no tariffs on imports from other countries. Only from the Philippines,” he said after a meeting with a private banana importer at The Imperial Palace Hotel here.

“As we all know commercial bananas are produced only in Mindanao because of soil conditions and the typhoon(s). But there is one thing we would like to request for the Japanese government, to lift the 18 percent tariff imposed on our agricultural products that are exported in Japan,” Alvarez said.

“So if the 18 percent tariff will be lifted, we will have a very good competition with other countries. In other countries they don’t impose tariff,” the Speaker added.

Farmind president and CEO Tatsuo Horiuchi said they were looking at the Philippines as a major supplier due to the lack of source for bananas, which are  considered staple in Japan.

Horiuchi said Japan imports 70 percent of its bananas from the Philippines and 30 percent from Central America.

In 2013, Japan imported 100 percent of its banana needs from the Philippines – owing to El Niño phenomenon and the damage brought by Typhoon Yolanda.

“We will sign a memorandum of agreement  with your government and that is to assist this rebel-returnees, providing them opportunities to come to this market,” he said.

“We’re talking about 20 million boxes as a target from the Philippines, and which is about maybe, less than 30 percent of the total Japan market,” Horuichi said.

The total Japan market for bananas is about 70 million boxes.

D. Kenneth Shaw, the Filipino partner of Farmind, said the current batch of banana exporters from Davao and other areas in Mindanao could be tapped to supply the needs of Farmind Corp.

If the importation pushes through, the Duterte administration wants to take the opportunity to allow rebel-returnees to work in banana plantations or harvest from their own farms once the government and the communist party finalize and sign the peace agreement.

Emerging from the meeting, Alvarez said the increased importation would boost the agriculture sector and enhance the Duterte government’s efforts to provide livelihood to former rebels.

Alvarez said the government was planning to tap beneficiaries of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program so they can use their land for growing bananas.

Alvarez and Tatsuo have long been friends and the Speaker said he has sought the businessman’s help.

Farmind is the largest fruit distributor in Japan.

Duterte’s state visit to Japan is  aimed at enhancing diplomatic relations and reaffirming the strategic partnership between Manila and Tokyo.

Japan’s assistance to the Philippines will be focused on economic growth, overcoming vulnerability and boosting peace and development in Mindanao. - With Louise Maureen Simeon