DA pushing for bigger Philippine share of Japan’s food market

The Department of Agriculture is looking to get for Filipino farmers and fisherfolk a bigger share of food market of Japan, which imported a total USD87 billion of agricultural products in 2022, the fifth largest in the world that year.

During his visit to Japan in December to accompany President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the ASEAN-Japan Summit, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. met with Japanese officials and businessmen to open more export opportunities for Philippine fish and tropical fruits such as pineapple, bananas, avocado, mangoes, durian, mangosteen and okra.

As a follow-up to the meetings in Japan, Secretary Tiu Laurel Jr. said the DA has scheduled the first meeting of the Philippines-Japan Joint Committee on Agriculture in the second quarter of this year.

“This very first meeting of the joint agriculture committee of the two Asian neighbors here in the Philippines will provide an avenue to follow through the agri-fisheries trade and market access discussions started in Japan,” he said.

Tiu Laurel Jr. said the joint agriculture meeting in the second quarter will also be an opportunity to discuss technical and project collaborations under the memorandum of cooperation signed in February last year, and the MIDORI Cooperation Plan.

In October, together with other member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Philippines signed the MIDORI plan which aims to promote cooperation projects using Japanese technology and sharing experiences to build resilient and sustainable agriculture and food systems for future food security.

The DA is also coordinating with the Department of Trade and Industry to secure preferential tariff rate for Philippine bananas, whose leading share of the Japanese market is under threat from Cambodia, Laos, Mexico, and Vietnam whose banana exports to Japan enjoy zero or preferential tariff.

Philippine bananas are staples for Japanese consumers, accounting for 22 percent of their food basket. The Philippines proximity to Japan allows the country to deliver low-cost bananas and other tropical fruits compliant with Japanese food standards.

Agriculture Secretary Tiu Laurel Jr. said that Manila looks at the review of