PPA develops policies to curb port storage abuse

The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is developing new policies to streamline procedures and prevent importers from using ports for storage.

PPA General Manager Jay Santiago said delays in filing import entries are causing congestion at the ports, with some importers waiting a month before filing despite goods being unloaded.

Santiago noted that importers delay filings to save on storage costs, paying only P700 per day per container compared to higher private warehouse fees.

The PPA has provided the Department of Agriculture (DA) with an updated list of 20 consignees who failed to pull out over 500 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of shipments from Manila ports as of September 30, including unclaimed pork, chicken, and onion inventories.

PPA is intensifying monitoring of pork, chicken, and onion inventories in preparation for the Christmas season surge, reporting 135 TEUs of pork, 101 TEUs of chicken, and 24 TEUs of onions remaining at the port as of September 30.