Regulatory Issues in the Philippine Food Manufacturing Industry

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In terms of gross value added in manufacturing, the food manufacturing industry (FMI) tops the list with about 50 percent of the manufacturing sector's output as of the fourth quarter of 2015. While this can already be considered a significant contribution, it would have performed better in the absence of regulatory bottlenecks. This Policy Note assesses the FMI and finds the gaps revolve around three main areas, namely, (1) organizational matters - administrative and human resources; (2) regulation - compliance requirements, regulatory, and associated fees; and (3) consumer issues. In the case of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the study finds that it currently suffers from limited financial and human resources, which have become stumbling blocks in its pursuit to provide efficient regulatory services to the FMI. With this, it urges the government to improve the agency's operational capacity and effectiveness, which may be accomplished by providing the FDA with adequate human resources and modern facilities.