Changes in the process of securing import permits introduced by the Department of Agriculture (DA) will delay the arrival of food products from the US, according to the latest Global Agricultural Information Network (Gain) report.
The Gain report, prepared by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) in Manila, also advised US exporters to “exercise caution” in planning their shipments to the Philippines because of the new rules. “Although the process [of securing import permits] is becoming more refined, further changes and consequent disruptions are likely,” the report read.
“Specifically, exporters should expect longer lag times for issuance of new permits, and expect additional delays upon arrival. Port congestion has been reported and is likely to introduce additional delays until the end of the holiday season,” it added.
FAS in Manila noted that the rules for securing new sanitary phytosanitary import clearances (SPS-ICs) have been changing “almost daily”. The DA first announced its decision to amend the process for the issuance of SPS-ICs on November 23.
At first, the Gain report said the DA imposed a total revocation of all permits, but was changed to a “re-validation” process after few days.
During the “revalidation” process, paperwork are delivered to the DA and picked up when processing was complete, it added. The importers were only allowed to clear their cargoes only upon successful re-validation of their SPS-ICs.
“Official procedures for the new process have not been published and have been changing in their details almost daily. Initially, meat and meat products were the primary affected cargoes,” the report read.
“However, trade reports that all agricultural cargoes are now affected, including feed ingredients, dairy products, frozen potatoes, and fresh and highly perishable cargoes,” it added.
The Gain report said the “re-validation” process has introduced delays ranging from two to five days for clearance and that “sensitive” cargoes have been lost.
“Industry sources report that new import permit applications are being processed; however, no new permits have yet been issued,” it added.
The US is a major trading partner of the Philippines. Washington considers the Philippines as one of its top markets for food-and-beverage products in Asia.
More changes
The DA on Monday again tweaked the revalidation process for all SPS-ICs issued before November 23.
In a notice posted in front of the DA Central office, the agency announced that starting December 5, all importers and brokers should abide by the prescribed schedule for the “revalidation” process of SPS-ICs.
The DA said it will entertain requests for validation of SPS-ICs from Monday to Saturday, from 8 to 11 a.m., according to the notice. It added that the DA will release validated SPS-ICs only from Monday to Friday, from 2 to 5 p.m.
“Releasing date [of validated SPS-ICs]: one to two working days after receipt of the request,” the notice read. Earlier, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said the re-validation process will take less than 24 hours.
The DA said they had to set a specific schedule for the revalidation process of SPS-ICs so that applicants would have a “uniform timetable” to follow.
“This was done because the number of applicants for validation and authentication of SPS-ICs per day is not constant,” Agriculture Undersecretary Ariel T. Cayanan told reporters in an interview.
“I think it will not have so much effect if there’s an additional [processing] day. But as much as possible, we try to finish everything within the day, within 24 hours,” Cayanan added. He said there is no backlog in terms of the SPS-ICs being revalidated and said the agency remains “on target”.
Also, Cayanan said he has yet to receive reports that Memorandum Circular (MC) 5, which authorized the review of the validity of all SPS-ICS, resulted in port congestion.
“I’ve met with the Bureau of Customs last Friday and they said there were no reports of port congestion,” Cayanan said.
Under MC 5, the importers should submit to the SPS monitoring and evaluation Technical Working Group (TWG) their request for validation and authentication.
Prior to the release of the imported items, traders must show a certificate of validity from the DA’s TWG. After meat importers about the new rules, the DA created a “green lane”, which prioritizes the release of validated SPS-ICs for inbound shipments containing perishable goods, such as chilled or frozen products. The green lane may also be accessed by “compliant” and institutional importers in the country, Cayanan said.
On November 29 the DA released a memorandum instructing the facilitation of the release of highly perishable items. The perishable items covered by the memorandum are: live items, chilled items, dairy products, fresh fruits; vegetable and flowers except onions and garlic; hatching eggs; live plants and orchids; veterinary products and nutritional products.
“Importers issued with SPS import permits covering said items/products may directly process their documents at the respective quarantine offices of the port,” the memo read. “Validation of SPS import clearance shall be done directly at the Quarantine Office at the port of entry by authorized DA officers under the SPS Technical Working Group,” it added.