THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has approved the importation of 38,695 metric tons (MT) of frozen fish and aquatic products to augment domestic supply “for the benefit of Filipino consumers.”
Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar issued administrative order (AO) 10 that outlined the implementing guidelines for the importation program for wet market consumption.
The latest frozen fish importation program approved by the DA through the issuance of certificate of necessity to import (CNI) aims to boost the country’s supply in the second quarter.
Under the law, the agriculture secretary approves and issues a CNI “to ensure food security, fish price stability and enhance fishery resource conservation.”
The country’s fish and other seafood inflation in April was recorded at 5 percent, faster than the 4.3 percent recorded in March.
This is the second CNI approved and issued by Dar this year with the first being the 60,000-MT of frozen small pelagic fish in January.
The DA is also expected to generate P19.347 million in revenue should the whole 38,695 MT import volume be awarded as it required importers to pay P500 for every metric ton of import allocation.
“Only importers of good standing may be allowed to participate in the importation,” Dar said.
“All qualified importers shall strictly comply with Food Safety Standards provided under the law and relevant regulations,” Dar added.
The government’s economic development cluster (EDC) earlier proposed the issuance of CNI for small pelagic fish with a total volume of 140,000 MT to plug the shortfall in domestic supply for the remaining quarters. The EDC’s fish importation proposal is part of the various measures that it identified to mitigate the impact of the Russia-Ukraine crisis on food supply and prices.
Import rules
Under the guidelines, the imported frozen fish shall be immediately disposed of within 20 days of arrival in the country.
“Performance in the disposal as well as disposition reports may be taken as one of the considerations in determining the qualified importers for the next CNI that may be issued,” Dar said.
The DA has required interested importers to submit a bill of lading or pro-forma invoice as part of their requirements to secure a sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance (SPS-IC) to import frozen fish.
Qualified importers must have no cases filed against them by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in relation to violations of any food safety or importation rules and regulations of the government.
The DA has also required importers to sell the frozen fish at a maximum price of P90 per kilogram, with their import volumes being traded only in Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA)-designated trading areas or fish ports.
“The importer shall source-out supply from respectable sources and not engage in IUU (illegal, unreported and unregulated) fishing,” the DA added.
The DA also requires importers to allow BFAR inspectors, quarantine officers, and law enforcers to conduct inspection and monitoring of the imported fish stored in the BFAR-registered storage facility.
“An initial volume of not less than 280 metric tons or equivalent to 10 container vans shall be allocated to each of the qualified importers, which they will immediately apply for an SPSIC with BFAR, the last day of which shall be by June 15,2022,” Dar added.
The DA said BFAR will immediately process SPSIC applications and endorse them to Dar for approval.
“In the application for SPSIC, the importer shall indicate the Port of Entry and final destination of the imported small pelagic fish under this CNI. All importers shall likewise observe the timeline for applications of SPSICs as may be provided by BFAR,” Dar said. “Transfer of allocation shall not be allowed,” Dar added.
The government’s economic development cluster (EDC) earlier proposed the issuance of CNI for small pelagic fish with a total volume of 140,000 MT to plug the shortfall in domestic supply for the remaining quarters. The EDC’s fish importation proposal is part of the measures that it identified to mitigate the impact of the Russia-Ukraine crisis on food supply and prices.
Image credits: Bernard Testa