The Philippines has pushed for better market access for its export products to key trading partners during bilateral talks held on the sidelines of the 49th Asean Economic Ministers (AEM) Meeting and Related Meetings that ended yesterday.
Ramon Lopez, secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said bilateral talks were held with the United States, Australia, Japan, Korea, China, New Zealand, Malaysia and India.
With Japan, the Philippines is looking forward to the review of the Philippines-Japan economic partnership agreement (PJEPA) to cover products of interest like bananas, mangoes and pineapples which are important to the Philippines.
This review would be a chance for the Philippines to reinforce is dominance in the export of these products as Japan has recently forged free trade arrangements with fruit-producing partners like Mexico and Peru.
Some products were pushed in Australia which said Philippine products will still have to go through import risk assessments and face stiff competition in their market.
For Korea, the Philippines seeks to have more access for bananas, pineapples and mangoes in addition to the other agriculture products the country exports like durian, mangosteen, avocado and okra.
