MORE NEWS, BENGUET

Farmers hit trade pacts on dumping of cheap veggies
By Dexter A See

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Associations of farmers and local government units in this vegetable-producing province and local governments were alerted on reports that the national government has entered into bilateral agreements and treaties on the trading of agricultural products.

They said this would result to their disadvantage and kill the country’s vegetable industry especially in this province where vegetable farming is a major source of income.

An expert tapped by the provincial government to monitor trading of vegetables in Metro Manila said that while there was no smuggling of vegetables in the country over the past few months, bilateral trade agreements were signed by the national government with foreign countries.

These deals might eventually kill the vegetable industry, the expert said.

Simya Lagos, the expert tapped by the provincial government to monitor vegetable trading, said all sectors, particularly farmers and local officials, must be vigilant and scrutinize the new bilateral trade agreements signed by the national government with foreign countries.

She said these might be unfavorable to the people in this province in the future because of the expected influx of cheap and quality vegetables without sufficient health safeguards.

She said the bilateral agreements are slowly taking the place of the controversial World Trade Organization-General Agreement and Tariff and Trade (WTO-GATT), and the local farmers would again be at the losing end due to the expected drastic drop in the prices of highland vegetables.

A bilateral trade agreement is entered into between two countries, aimed at lowering the tariff duties imposed on the imported products.

Because the agricultural products of China and other agriculture-based Asian nations are subsidized by their governments, the reduction of the tariff imposed by the Philippine government would further result in much lower prices of the products compared to those produced in the country.

During the period from 2001 to 2003, the vegetable industry here nearly collapsed due the flooding of the local markets with imported vegetables from China.