This was reported by Trade and Industry Secretary Peter B. Favila following the recent bilateral ministerial level with Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile in Sydney.
"Want to bring to a close this issue of banana split. We don’t have to speak of bananas and dairy everytime we meet when there are other products that we can trade," Favila told his counterpart.
Favila even broke the ice when he sensed that the meeting was too formal and serious saying "On my way here I was looking forward to my banana split."
"Let’s look beyond the World Trade Organization and look at other options," he said.
According to Favila, his proposal was widely accepted by the Australian.
He, however, said that his call for other avenues to settle the trade conflict should not be seen as weakness on the position of the Philippines saying he would rather look at a bigger picture and that is Australian investments into the Philippines.
The Philippines had filed a protest before the WTO against Australia for banning Philippine mangoes, pineapples and bananas. Australia only allows limited entry of canned mangoes from the Philippines
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has to issue a decision after convening a mediation panel.
Both the Philippines and Australia are members of the Cairns Group, which has emerged as a power bloc in the WTO.
The Philippines, however, accused Australia of blocking its farm exports by imposing austere quarantine and sanitary and phyto sanitary requirements.
It could be recalled that an Import Risk Analysis report in July 2003, the Biosecurity Australia required the Philippines to use methyl bromide as fumigant for pineapples and decrown the fruits before shipment.
But Filipino exporters argued that using the fumigant would result in discoloration of pineapple while the decrowning would shorten the fruit’s shelf life.
In reprisal, the Philippines had threatened to suspend importation of cattle, meat, beef and dairy products from Australia. The threat, however, remained at that.
While restricting its farm imports, Australia purchases from the Philippines computer chips, electrical distribution equipment, telecommunications equipment, radio broadcast receivers, furniture, machinery and transport equipment, mechanical handling equipment, chemicals and related products, and other electrical machinery.
So far, Australia is the 14th largest export market of the Philippines and accommodated nearly 1 percent of its products. It was also the Philippines’ 13th largest source of imports.
In 2002, the Philippines incurred a deficit of A$276 million in its bilateral trade with Australia importing A$1.091-billion worth of merchandise goods from Australia and exporting only A$815-million worth of products to that country.
