Country has lost market share to Vietnam in recent years, but some believe the implementation of a new trade agreement could reverse that decline
The Philippines could win back its previously dominant share of South Korea’s banana market if, as expected, a free trade agreement between the two countries is ratified shortly.
As reported by Business Mirror, Filipino DTI Undersecretary Allan Gepty told a recent senate hearing that his country’s share of the South Korean banana market had fallen dramatically in recent years, from almost 100 per cent to less than 70 per cent.
In the meantime, he said, Vietnamese exporters had secured a 15 per cent market share.
During the same meeting, Dole Philippines consultant and export association representative Melquiades Hernandez reportedly expressed concern about recent delays to the FTA’s implementation.
“If we are not able to finalise this FTA with Korea, we are very afraid that we will lose entirely the Korean market, which is our third biggest market next to China and Japan,” he said.
Tariffs on bananas imported into Korea from the Philippines are due to be eliminated by 2030 under the terms of the deal. Originally, that period was set to be ten years, but was shortened during negotiations.
