Garlic import data don鈥檛 match, smuggling suspected — SINAG
AN agricultural lobby group said various official sources of data are diverging widely on the volume of garlic imports in 2016, which it considers a tell-tale sign of rampant smuggling.
In a statement, Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura, Inc., (SINAG) said the country鈥檚 trade partners reported to the United Nations that they exported some 62.7 million kilos of garlic to the country in 2016.
However, the group said data from the Department of Trade and Industry reflect only shipments of 58.7 million kilos last year, wildly diverging from the Bureau of Customs (BoC) record of 72.5 million kilos.
鈥淎gencies reporting different garlic importation figures — and quite different from the record of our trading partners,鈥 SINAG said, 鈥淲e can only view this as (an indication of) technical smuggling.鈥
The Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) placed the garlic imports at 47.6 million kilos.
The lowest government estimate and the trading-partner data suggest volume of smuggled garlic last year was 15 million kilos, SINAG said.
SINAG added that recent garlic price increases, which were being blamed by the government on the inability of importers to ship in garlic due to high prices on the world markets, could be a sign of market-unfriendly behavior.
鈥淟ocal garlic producers are still struggling from the 25-year policy of wanton garlic importation and smuggling in lieu of domestic production,鈥 SINAG said.
鈥淲ith only 7.5% of the country鈥檚 garlic requirements produced locally, importers/smugglers and traders that form the garlic cartel continue to dictate prices since there is no significant local production to counter the steep price of imported/smuggled garlic. Dependence on imports has destroyed the country鈥檚 ability to produce food,鈥 the group added.
To reduce the country鈥檚 dependence on garlic imports, the Department of Agriculture is moving to meet at least half of the country鈥檚 annual requirement by expanding the land planted to garlic by an additional 20,000 hectares.
Earlier this month, the department also revoked import permits of approved garlic importers that failed to ship the volume of garlic they committed for this year.
The DA expects the involvement of new importers to break the hold of the smuggling cartel. — Janina C. Lim
