The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will tighten cement standards in light of concerns raised by local manufacturers against imported cement, which they alleged to be employing “labeling” tactics.
In a statement, the DTI said it will issue a memorandum circular (MC) through the Bureau of Philippine Standards (BPS) on the Supplemental Guidelines for the Implementation of Department Administrative Order (DAO) 17-06, Series of 2017, or “The New Rules and Regulations Concerning the Mandatory Certification of Portland Cement and Blended Hydraulic Cement with Pozzolan”.
This came after BPS reviewed its policy on the manufacture and importation of cement products. This move stemmed from the concerns raised by local manufacturers on the imported cement products bagged in the country but was labeled as “Product of the Philippines.”
Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez reiterated the importance of transparency and accuracy of the product markings for both locally manufactured and imported cement products.”
“It is incumbent upon the importers and/or manufacturers to properly label their products and reflect the country where these products were produced. It will properly guide our consumers, especially at this time of pandemic where we encourage our countrymen to patronize locally produced products to support the economy,” Lopez said.
The trade chief has been actively promoting the “Buy Local, Go Lokal” campaign to prime up the local manufacturing industries as an effect of the COVID-19 pandemic drastically hitting the country’s economy.
Consistent with DAO 17-06:2017, the DTI-BPS issued separate licenses for the manufacturing and bagging facilities on a per plant site/location basis. However, there has been some confusion on the required product markings as the earlier DAO did not include the marking requirements for bagging facilities to indicate the country of manufacture; thus, necessitating a new Circular clarifying this requirement for concerned manufacturers and/or importers.
Upon issuance of the supplemental guidelines, the DTI-BPS will be conducting verification and monitoring of cement bagging facilities in the country to ensure immediate compliance on the prescribed product markings.
Under this proposed MC, all locally manufactured and imported cement products shipped in bulk and bagged in a PS Licensed bagging facility shall be permanently marked with the name and address of the manufacturer, the country of manufacture, and the words “Bagged by:”, followed by the name and address of the bagging facility, among others.
In addition, manufacturers and operators of bagging facilities are directed to immediately cease all printing operations of previously approved cement bag designs indicating “Product of the Philippines” even if the cement products are imported in bulk.
The DTI-BPS will be conducting inventory of all printed cement bags for recording purposes and immediate corrective action to reflect the correct country of manufacture.
Lopez stressed that cement manufacturers and operators of bagging facilities must be truthful in declaring the products’ country of origin.
“We encourage and support investments in additional cement processing facilities, but we will also not waiver in our pursuit to ensure level playing fields, both for locally manufactured and imported products. Accurate information through the products’ labels should be provided to the consumers for them to make informed decisions in their choices of consumer products” he added.
“While consumer safety is always one of the department’s priorities, it is also the mandate of DTI to protect and support local manufacturing industries. This is why, the DTI strongly promotes the Buy Local, Go Lokal campaign, encouraging all local consumers to patronize Filipino products and services.”
Once issued, the new supplemental guidelines shall be effective immediately upon publication in a national newspaper of general circulation.
Aside from the labeling issue, local cement manufacturers and importers are currently engaged in a price war. Local cement manufacturers, who successfully gotten the DTI to issue a safeguard measure of P10 per 40-kilogram bag on imported cement, has petitioned the DTI to suspend the tariff cut reduction if not increase the rate to P12 per bag.
At present, prices of cement are on a downtrend. Laban Konsyumer Inc. said the DTI Price Monitoring showed that cement prices average P220 per 40 kg bag across the country, although still lower than the P240 to P250 per bag last year.
A check among hardwares also indicated softening of cement prices. The Rizal brand is now retailing at P208 to P210, Republic Cement at P205, Eagle at P205 and Big Boss at P195 from a range of P270-P250-P220 in May this year.