Pre-shipment testing for cement included in new DTI rules

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez has assured the new draft governing the cement industry would include preshipment test, in the process improving the current department administration order (DAO).

“It will be good to have pre-shipment test, as we shall limit the testing centers also only to accredited ones in the country of origin. That will allow traders not to proceed with their shipment if it will not pass the test and prevent unnecessary freight and product cost if they will be banned anyway,” Lopez told

The STAR yesterday. He was reacting to cement importers’ push for pre shipment testing to improve the quality of cement in the country.

This would be the first time that there would be preshipment and post shipment testing in the country, Lopez said.

“Note that prior to this administration and current DAO, there was no pre-shipment at all if it comes from a PS (Philippine Standard) plant,” he said.

Moving forward, he said, this would be required for all importers, whether by manufacturers (which augment their production capacity) or traders.

“Both the pre-shipment and post shipment tests are what we call verification tests because these products, with proper markings on their production batch details, are allowed to be imported only if they come from PS certified plants. Proper pre-shipment tests will already give good comfort level that the product is standard compliant. Thus, the post shipment test is just another verification or confirmatory in nature,” Lopez said.

All these efforts are aligned with the Duterte administration’s thrust to usher in the so-called golden age of infrastructure in the country.