Thai cement producers urged to eye Philippines as tax on imports ends
Thai cement producers can turn to the Philippines as a potential market now that the Philippine government has decided not to extend a tax on imports of cement to protect domestic producers, a senior Thai trade official said on Wednesday.
Ronnarong Phoolpipat, director-general of the Foreign Trade Department, said the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), announced its decision to end the tax on November 10 following a probe into the issue.
The DTI decided not to continue the import tax on cement after it expired on October 21.
The Philippines imposed the levy on imported cement on October 22, 2019 for three years. In the first year, the tax was 250 pesos (US$4.5) per tonne. The duty fell to 245 pesos and 200 pesos per tonne in the second and third years, respectively.
On February 24 this year, the Philippine Tariff Commission began an inquiry to decide whether to continue duty on. By World Trade Organisation’s rules, it could continue the safeguard measure for seven more years.
However, Ronnarong said his department appealed against the measure, arguing that a safeguard should only be used to protect a damaged industry. The department also noted that cement production had risen in the Philippines.
Ronnarong said the appeal prompted the Philippines to decide not to continue imposing the tax.
During the first nine months of this year, Thailand produced about 20.56 million tonnes of cement. Most, 18.39 million tonnes, was for the domestic market. The rest, 1.67 million tonnes, was exported.
Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia are the major export markets for Thai cement, Ronnarong said, adding that Thai producers rarely exported to the Philippines because of the tax.
He said the Philippines imported about 4 million tonnes of cement a year, with about 90 per cent of that from Vietnam.
The Foreign Trade Department expects the Philippines to import more cement next year as its property market and overall economy continue growing.
Now that the tax on imported cement is gone, the Philippines is a high-potential market for Thai cement exporters, Ronnarong said.
