| THE World Bank has adjudged the Philippines the most expensive place there is in Asia from which to trade with the rest of the world.
In a report, the World Bank found that Manila charges the most per container van of export or import materials, higher than Singapore, China or Thailand.
According to the World Bank, port and terminal handling costs in the Philippines total $1,336 per 20-foot container versus only $335 in China, $382 in Singapore and $848 in Thailand.
It concluded Manila has the highest cost among the countries it surveyed, adding this was a “cause of concern for the Filipino exporters/importers.”
The study found the cost for shipping anything out of Manila in a 20-footer already totals $994, which includes $500 for domestic transshipment from Cebu to Manila, for example; cargo handling or arrastre of another $175; $45 for the terminal handling charge and $274 as port charges.
The World Bank said the $994 per 20-footer figure accounts for the bulk of the total cost to export from the Philippines.
This was on top of another schedule of fees that total $721.21 per container van.
The fee charged the exporter or importer by a foreign shipping company for transporting vans from Cebu to Manila already costs $500.
This was on top of a $30 fee for the bill of lading, the terminal handling charge of $30, chassis rental of $9, a fuel adjustment factor of $70, even a telex release fee of $35, a loading fee of $11, cargo handling/arrastre fee of $46.02 and export wharfage of $5.19.
Except for the export wharfage, arrastre and loading fees, the World Bank said all these fees went to the foreign shipping liners.
The charges had been such that Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and Neda chief Romulo Neri was scandalized to learn that even the Bureau of Customs seems to have taken advantage of the situation by charging exporters fees for the use of its x-ray scanning machines.
Industry sources said Neri reminded BOC chief Napoleon Morales it was never the intention of the National Economic Development Authority for the bureau to impose a scanning fee.
Neri said the fee was needless, as Manila can recover the cost of purchasing the equipment out of the increase in customs duties and taxes.
Reports claimed Morales charges $50 as security fee per 40-foot container, and $25 per 20-footer containers.
The Philippines obtained a loan from the Chinese government to make the purchase of the x-ray scanning machines possible.
Sources also said Finance Secretary Margarito Teves was similarly scandalized and has promised to “look into the matter” quickly.
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