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The Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Plant Industry has blacklisted three agricultural food importers and is poised to revoke the import licenses of five more due to illegal trade activities
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BPI has blacklisted LVM Grains Enterprises, which imported milled rice, cashew nuts, and coffee without the necessary sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances
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Also blacklisted were Kysse Lishh Consumer Goods Trading and Golden Rays Consumer Goods Trading due to their respective importation of onions and oranges without SPIC permits and import licenses
The Department of Agriculture (DA)-Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) has blacklisted three agricultural food importers and is poised to revoke the import licenses of five more due to illegal trade activities.
BPI on May 21 blacklisted LVM Grains Enterprises, which imported milled rice, cashew nuts, and coffee without the necessary sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPIC), DA said in an Oct 9 statement.
Also blacklisted were Kysse Lishh Consumer Goods Trading and Golden Rays Consumer Goods Trading due to their respective importation of onions and oranges without SPIC permits and import licenses.
“We will not turn a blind eye to these importers’ illegal practices that undermine government revenues and put public health at risk. To do so would be to abdicate our sworn duty to protect our farmers and the Filipino consumers,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said.
The import licenses of five other firms, meanwhile, have been suspended prior to revocation due to misdeclarations, illegal importation, and anti-competitive trade practices. DA said the Philippine Competition Commission is leading the prosecution of three of the companies accused of engaging in anti-competitive trade activities.
BPI director Gerald Glenn Panganiban said they are withholding the names of the five firms “because the cases we filed against them are still pending.”
“Until their cases are resolved, however, they cannot transact with BPI,” Panganiban said.
DA noted that just last month, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. signed into law Republic Act No. 12022, or the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, which aims to strengthen the country’s agricultural sector by tackling illegal activities that disrupt food supply and inflate prices.
READ: Marcos signs Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act into law
The new law defines crimes related to agricultural economic sabotage including smuggling, hoarding, profiteering and cartel operations that affect the availability and affordability of food in the country.
Under RA 12022, smuggling, hoarding, profiteering, and cartel operations involving agricultural and fishery products will now be classified as economic sabotage—a non-bailable offense punishable by life imprisonment and fines up to five times the value of the goods involved.
The new law considers smuggling and hoarding of agricultural products as economic sabotage when the value of goods exceeds P10 million.
