Port congestion in Manila may lead to higher inflation, traders warn
August 7, 2014 8:47pm
Prices of most imported goods would likely go up in the coming days due to limited supply caused by the congestion in two ports in Manila, traders and government officials warned Thursday.
Steven Cua, President of the Philippine Amalgamated Supermarkets Association Inc. (PASI), said the delay in the movement of container vans from the Manila International Container Port and the Port of Manila has already caused a significant decrease in the supply of fresh milk and detergent soap.
The limited supply of these everyday consumer goods would likely result in an increase in prices, he said in a report aired on GMA News' 24 Oras program.
A
daytime truck ban in Manila and related transport problems have caused a backlog in the delivery of goods in and out of the ports in recent months, leading to the congestion.
Cua said the supply of imported raw materials used by local manufacturers was also affected by the problem.
“A lot of items mag-iincrease ng presyo kung ganun, dahil a lot of the components ng ating ginagamit pang araw-araw ay imported. In fact, may manufacturer na nagsabi, paglabas (from port) medyo sira na yung produkto nila,” Cua said.
(A lot of items will have an inflation because a lot of components that we used everyday are all imported. In fact, a manufacturer said that their products have expired once it leaves the port.)
Emerson Palad, Department of Agriculture (DA) Undersecretary for Field Operations, also warned of a possible increase in prices of agricultural produce due to the gridlock in and around the ports.
“Maaari po na dahil sa congestion sa ports ay ma-discourage ang ilang importers na magpasok ng kanilang kalakal at magkulang ang lokal na supply at magbungsod ng posibleng pagtaas ng presyo,” Palad said in a statement.
(It is this congestion in the ports that many importers will be discourage to import their products, leading to a low supply and would cause inflation on prices.)
He said several traders are already complaining about the delays in the release of containers vans, which has reportedly resulted in the spoilage of goods and additional costs.
Several shipments of imported fruits and garlic remain stuck at the ports, Palad said, citing information they received from the Bureau of Plant Industry.
In one supermarket in Quezon City, prices of imported fruits such as pear, apple, orange and ponkan have begun to increase by up to 20 to 25 per cent, the 24 Oras report noted.
Fuji Apples are now at P25 per piece from the previous P20; oranges now sell at P25 per piece from P20; ponkans are at P20 from P15, and pears at P37 from P25.
Probe sought
On Wednesday,
Senators Chiz Escudero and Bam Aquino filed separate resolutions seeking an investigation on the congestion in Manila ports, saying the situation must be resolved immediately to avoid the prospect of a nationwide “economic catastrophe.”
Aquino said the Bureau of Export Trade Promotion's forecast of a 5.8 percent to 7.2 percent export growth this year may no longer be attained because of the situation in the ports.
The senator said inefficient port operations have adversely effected free enterprise and the competitiveness of Philippine goods.
Aquino suggested that authorities look into the possibility of using the Ports of Batangas and Subic Bay as alternative drop-off points for cargo vessels.
He said Vietnam had the same problem, but was solved after cargo vessels were diverted to the alternate ports of Ben Nghe and Phu Huu, aside from upgrading the Cat Lai port.
Prof. Cayetano Paderanga of the University of the Philippines School of Economics warned that the delay in the delivery of goods might also affect the country's gross domestic product for the whole year.
“Kasi kapag yung intermediate goods or raw materials hindi nakapasok, babagal ang produksyon, titigil ang trabaho, maapektuhan yung output,” Paderanga said.
(If the intermediate goods or raw materials are not delivered, production will slow down, jobs will stop and the output will be affected.)
Subic as alternative port
Meanwhile, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman and director Roberto Garcia said the port of
Subic is willing to accommodate some of the container vans from Manila's ports.
“Para makatulong naman sa mga negosyante namin dito sa Subic at Central Luzon, sabi namin, bakit hindi kaya gamitin muna ang aming container port bilang storage area dahil under-utilized po ang container port namin at kasyang-kasya ang 7,000 container vans dito,” Garcia said in a phone patch interview aired on GMA News TV's “Quick Response Team”.
(We said that, in order to helps the traders here in Subic and Central Luzon, the container port storage here in Subic should be used as a storage area as this is under-utilized and 7000 container vans (intermodal containers) can be stored here.)
He said Subic could also accommodate ships carrying cargo for delivery in neighboring provinces.
“Ang problema diyan sa Maynila ay hindi na sila makapag-baba ng cargo dahil wala nang space na paglalagyan dahil marami pong empty containers po dun. So, this is mainly for the empty container vans and cargoes destined for Central Luzon,” Garcia said.
(The problem as to why cargo cannot be unloaded in Manila(port) is because there is no space left for the cargo to be unloaded to as there are many empty containers there. So, this is mainly for the empty container vans and cargoes destined for Central Luzon.)
“Imbes na makadadag pa sila sa traffic diyan sa Maynila, dapat yung cargo for Central Luzon, ideretso na nila dito,” he added.
(This in turn increases the traffic in Manila thus all cargo bound for Central Luzon should be directed here (in Subic))
“Marami kaming importer at exporter na mga Japanese companies, Taiwanese companies na kailangang kailangan makagamit ng Port of Subic. Mas mura ang shipping fee dito, walang truck ban, 24 hours ang operation at walang baha, so marami talagang benefits,” Garcia said.
(We have a lot of importer and exporter coming from Japanese companies and Taiwanese companies that need to use the Port of Subic. The shipping fee here is cheaper and there is no truck ban thus the port has 24-hour continuous operation and the area is not prone to flooding, thus there are many benefits here.)
— Elizabeth Marcelo/NB/YA, GMA News
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Port congestion in Manila may lead to higher inflation, traders warn | Economy | GMA News Online
