Australia continues to hold the release of the almost decade-long Import Risk Analysis (IRA) for Philippine fresh fruits, particularly fresh bananas, pineapples and mangoes.
In an interview with The STAR, visiting Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean dangled the release of the IRA possibly by “next week,” but subject to further assessment by Australian scientists.
“We can’t change the process. We have to let it run its course,” he said.
The Philippines has been waiting for more than a decade for the release of the long overdue Australian IRA on Philippine fresh fruits.
In fact, the IRA as well as other phytosanitary requirements are being viewed by the Philippines as non-tariff barriers being used by Australia to block the entry of Philippine fresh bananas, pineapples and mangoes to the Australian market.
Australia has a strong domestic banana producers’ lobby against Philippine banana imports.
Manila has filed a complaint against Canberra before the World Trade Organization and is seeking the WTO’s creation of a dispute-settlement panel to resolve the dispute.
Crean said that the issue of Philippine fresh fruit exports to Australia was discussed during the one-day Philippine Australia Ministerial Meeting (PAMM) held Thursday at the Sofitel Hotel in Pasay.
According to Senior Trade Undersecretary Tomas Aquino, the Philippines is trying to seek an arrangement whereby accreditation and approval by a parallel Philippine Food Development Center would be accepted and recognized by its Australian counterpart.
Australia enjoys a positive trade balance with the Philippines of A$330.19 million, with its exports amounting to A$737.6 million and imports from the Philippines amounting to only A$407.41 million.
Australia’s primary exports to the Philippines are dairy products, meat and edible meat offal, and live animals.
Australia imports from the Philippines agricultural products such as dessicated coconut unmanufactured tobacco, carageenan, pineapple juice concentrates, cereal and cereal products, seaweedd and other algae, banana chips and crackers, and potassium sulphate.
Philippine Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap had previously criticized Australia, pointing out that “while Australia positions itself as the champion of the developing nations in the WTO as leader of the so-called Cairns Group, a bloc of developed and developing countries in the WTO advocating fair trade in agriculture, yet it continues to deny the entry of Philippine bananas which have gained acceptance and reputation for high quality among the other markets, including Japan.”