The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Wednesday said it would conduct a second review of all Sanitary Phytosanitary (SPS) permits issued to importers, since the cartel in the garlic industry has resurfaced. The DA suspended in November last year the issuance of SPS clearances or import permits for revalidation to weed out unscrupulous traders. On Wednesday, Piñol said he blacklisted some 43 “traditional” importers for not utilizing import permits. “Ang naging problema ngayon kasi ayaw nila mag-import dahil mataas daw kasi prices,” Piñol said. Addressing the age-old problem of cartels in the garlic industry is not an easy task, the Cabinet official noted.

Source: Manila Times July 12, 2017 17:37 UTC