Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar has greenlighted the 60,000-metric ton (MT) importation of small pelagic fishes, such as galunggong, for wet market sale to augment the country's domestic supply in anticipation of the closed fishing season.

Dar said he has approved the issuance of certificate of necessity to import (CNI) "to augment current local fish production, maintain sufficient supply, and make it affordable to consumers."

Dar made the approval following the recommendation of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), in coordination with the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA), and in consultation with the National Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council (NFARMC), and fishing industry stakeholders.

The approved volume by Dar was 5,000 MT smaller than the 65,000-MT supply deficit projected by the BFAR in the fourth quarter. The DA also disclosed that the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) recommended a maximum import volume of 200,000 MT for the fourth quarter and first quarter of next year.

"We are doing a balancing act, wherein our primordial concern is to enhance and sustain the development of our fisheries sector, and provide our fellow citizens affordable fish on their table," he said in a news statement issued on Friday.

"Further, such policy decision eases the pressure on food inflation, thus benefiting mostly our poor countrymen whose purchasing power has been reduced due to the economic slowdown and the Covid-19 pandemic," he added.

The agriculture chief explained that the 60,000-MT importation would cover small pelagic fishes like roundscad or galunggong, mackerel and bonito, which will be sold in public wet markets, particularly in Metro Manila and fish-deficient areas in the country.

The importers will be required by the DA to sell the imported fish at a wholesale price of P88 per kilogram or lower "as a result of the cost unbundling for imported small pelagic fishes."

The CNI would be valid from September 2 until the end of December. The import volume will be allocated among eligible importers through an auction system with the BFAR overseeing the processing of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPS-IC) for the winning auctioneers, which will be endorsed to Dar for approval.

Transfer of volume allocation will not be allowed, according to the DA.

Based on the approved guidelines for this year's small pelagic fishes importation, only importers of good standing and compliant to food safety guidelines can participate in the importation, the DA said.

"Prospective importers should have no SPS-IC covered by previous CNI that has been canceled. They should have imported at least 70 percent of the total volume issued during the last importation period," it said.

"Importers should source-out supply from respectable source and not engaged in IUU [illegal, unreported and unregulated] fishing," it added.

Furthermore, the DA said the imported fish must arrive in the country "within 20 days from receipt of SPS-IC" while the last ship-out date from exporting country must be one month before the closed fishing season "to prevent hoarding."

"From the Customs Clearing House, the importer should directly unload the imported frozen/chilled fish at its BFAR-registered cold-storage facility and trade the imported products at the PFDA fish ports or PFDA-designated trading areas," it said.

"Importers should allow BFAR inspectors, quarantine officers and law enforcers to inspect and monitor the imported fish stored in the BFAR-registered storage facility, and provide data for the purpose of performance evaluation of said CNI," it added.

Image courtesy of Nonie Reyes

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