The Philippines

Picture







​






​Export Requirements:

The Philippine market officially opened to U.S. fresh blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum, Vaccinium virgatum, and V. corymbosum hybrids) on May 24, 2020.  Shipments MUST follow the market access protocol agreed to between the United States and the Philippines, which includes trapping for spotted wing drosophila, hand harvesting, and using a fruit extraction method to look for pests.  All California blueberry exporters who wish to ship to the Philippines must also register and become certified by APHIS officials prior to the season. If a shipper previously registered and was added to the list, it is not necessary to repeat this process before each season. Please contact the Commission office for more information on this registered shippers list.

What follows is a summary of the phytosanitary protocol for exporting fresh U.S. blueberries to the Philippines.  Exporters intending to ship to the Philippines should review the full details of import requirements provided (beginning on page 10) in Philippines Department of Agriculture Administrative Circular No. 5 of 2020.

  • In order to become a registered facility, exporters must  contact the CBC to be placed on a shippers list prior to export. 
  • All fresh blueberries for export should be inspected, cleaned and packed in new carton boxes. 
  • All boxes should be properly labeled with the name of the packing house, the grower lot number, and country of origin.  The label is to be placed on conspicuous area of the box. 
  • Packed fruits should be kept in clean holding areas, properly labeled with “For the Philippines” and separated from others intended for other destination. 
  • Fruit may only enter through the ports of Manila, Cebu, and Davao. 
  • All blueberry fruit must be produced and packed under a systems approach for Drosophila suzukii.  Requirements of the systems approach must be verified during the phytosanitary inspection.
A Phytosanitary Certificate (PC) and Import Permit (IP) are required to export U.S. fresh blueberries to the Philippines.  The PC must contain the following additional declaration:
  • “These blueberry fruits are exported in compliance with the conditions stated in the work plan for export. These fruits have been inspected and found to be free from quarantine pests.”

MRLs:

The Philippines accepts Codex MRLs in cases where a national MRL is not set.  For 87 pesticides with U.S. blueberry MRLs, 55 pesticides have no Philippine or Codex MRL established, and 8 have an MRL more restrictive than the U.S. MRL.  Twenty-four (24) of these pesticides have a Philippine or Codex MRL harmonized with or set higher than the U.S. MRL.

​More information on MRL levels can be found within the Global MRL Database: https://www.bryantchristie.com/BCGlobal-Subscriptions/Pesticide-MRLs. Thanks to funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency, a started level subscription to the database is available for no charge. 

​Tariffs: