Local millers blame Customs for influx of smuggled flour

MANILA, Philippines- Local flour millers are blaming a government agency for the continued illegal influx of unbranded flour from China. In a strongly-worded statement, Philippine Association of Flour Millers (PAFMIL) executive director Ric Pinca said that from January to April 15 this year, some 15,316 metric tons of smuggled Chinese flour reached the Manila International Container Terminal and the Port of Manila due to collusions between smugglers and agents of the Bureau of Customs. "The power and influence of flour smugglers at the BOC obviously knows no bounds as they and their accomplices defy even the President herself," Pinca said in the statement. Pinca said shipments of unbranded flour form China were also reported to have landed in Cagayan De Oro. Unbranded flour, he said, is already being sold in Cagayan Valley, Cebu, Davao and Cagayan De Oro. Earlier, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) office reported seizing and destroying 940 bags of unlabelled Chinese flour which was found unfit for human consumption. Local flour millers have already sought the assistance of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and the Federation of Philippine Industries to stop the entry of smuggled flour products. "The two flour miller groups in the country - the seven-member PAFMIL and the four-member Chamber of Philippine Flour Millers (Champflour) - also brought this matter to the attention of the BOC but flour smuggling continues unabated. In fact, the perpetrators and their cohorts have of late become more brazen and shameless," Pinca said. - GMANews.TV