Regulatory requirements compliance key to gaining EU market entry

Local exporters especially of agricultural products are advised to comply with regulatory requirements to unlock huge opportunities offered by the European Union (EU) market.

Nestor Palabyab, International Trade Centre’s (ITC) national export trainer, said key agricultural products eligible for preferential market access to the EU under its Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) are coconut oil, bananas, pineapples, tuna, as well as products derived therefrom.

“(There) are opportunities that are unfilled. We still can export more bananas, fresh or dried; crude coconut oil; pineapples; prepared or preserved tuna; desiccated (coconut) products, etc. These are the food products that still have potential to enter the EU market. These are just graphs but it is in the billions if you estimate that,” he said during the MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) Week 2024 celebration.

GSP+ scheme

Palabyab urged exporters to determine first if their products are covered by the EU’s GSP+. Under the GSP+ scheme, the Philippines can export over 6,200 products tariff-free, or 66 percent of all product lines, to the EU.

“There is a way of looking at it. First of all, you need to know the tariff heading,” he said.

But Palabyab admitted that the regulatory requirements of Europe are “double the difficulty.”

“You know why, they have higher standards on sustainability, they have higher standards on cleanliness, and they are a more science-based society,” he said.

To export agricultural products to Europe, Palabyab said entrepreneurs need to comply first with the steps required in the Philippines, and then conform to importing requirements of the EU and any product-specific rule that apply to products to be placed on the EU market.

Register as an exporter

He said they need to register as an exporter with the Bureau of Customs’ Client Profile Registration System (CPRS) through which exporters’ company profiles are included in the BoC’s Electronic-to-Mobile (E2M) Customs administration. The CPRS is used when processing export declarations.

For exports under the GSP, Palabyab said exporters should check and ensure compliance with the applicable rules of origin and registration with the EU’s Registered Exporter system, and prepare all relevant documents and documentation.

“Currently, Philippines’ exporters can export to the EU under (a) MFN (Most Favoured Nation) tariff rates or (b) the preferential tariff rates under the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences depending on the product and the compliance with the applicable rules of origin,” he added.

Palabyab also advised them to ascertain relevant charges in addition to tariff duties.