Philippine tuna exporters urged to pool cargo

Philippine tuna exporters urged to pool cargo    Shippers on the Philippine island of Mindanao are being encouraged to pool cargo to cut transportation cost and encourage transportation providers to provide more access to the market, according to a report over the weekend by MindaNews, a news outlet on the island.
   Tuna shippers, who send their cargo primarily to the United States, may be the first to try it. Shippers and trade associations — even those in competition with one another — are being urged by the Mindanao Federation of Shippers' Association, MFSA President Vicente S. Lagdamen, Jr. told a recent regional business conference in the country.
   'Volume cargo shipments always get lower rates,' the news agency reported Lagdamen saying. Since 2006, those who pool cargo have seen freight costs reduced by as much as 50 percent, he added.