Assessment of informal international trade of selected agricultural commodities in the Philippines

This paper examined the dynamics and extent of smuggling of selected agricultural products in the Philippines and assessed the effectiveness of existing policies in addressing smuggling of agricultural products in the country. Primary data were gathered through focus group discussions, key informant interviews and field visits which were conducted in selected sites/ports in the Philippines and in Indonesia and Singapore. Secondary data on the Philippine imports and partner country exports, domestic consumption and production rice, sugarcane, ginger, onion, carrots, poultry (dressed chicken), beef, and pork for the period 1986 to 2009 were subjected to econometric techniques to determine the extent of smuggling. Rapid area appraisal was employed to determine the modes and nature of smuggling. Results revealed that in the Philippines accreditation of importers is done by three different agencies while in Indonesia and Singapore such is being done by a single agency thus preventing fictitious importers. Further, the boarding protocol in the Philippines is unique in such a way that the BOC is the first to board, after DOH for human quarantine, and they are also the last hurdle in the importation process for collection of duties for the incoming cargo. Inspection can be done by BOC with or without regulatory authorities but the same cannot be done by regulatory authorities without BOC, thus endangering the safety of agricultural products that enter the country. In contrast, in Indonesia and Singapore, the regulatory authorities have to clear the shipment as safe before the BOC can collect the relevant tariff/duties. Trends in the importation of the selected commodities showed considerable increase starting in the 1990s and so did the estimated volume of technical smuggling. The volume technically smuggled increased at a increasing rate and the top five commodities smuggled between 1986 and 2009 are milled rice, beef, refined sugar, pork, and chicken meat. Analyses further revealed that anti-smuggling measures implemented in the country were ineffective in mitigating the volume of smuggled agricultural products and these were attributed to several issues identified in the study.