THE Fisheries and Aquaculture Board of the Philippines (FAB) bucked the government’s new rules on frozen fish imports, warning that the tighter regulations would drive food prices to accelerate faster due to possible supply disruptions.
FAB Chair Chingling Tanco said the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Administrative Circular 11 series of 2022, which tightened import rules on frozen fish used by industrial users, processors and canners, imposes “additional” constraints on the country’s seafood trade.
“There are some points that need clarification. This will result in additional disruptions and uncertainties,” Tanco said in a recent statement.
“It will stoke inflation, especially among small carinderias that serve the pampanos and galunggongs, tuna panga and byproducts,” she added.
Tanco warned that Filipino consumers face the possibility of being unable to afford certain seafood items in the market in the future due to the consequences of AC 11.
“Eventually, as seen from experience over the high price of [galunggong], consumers will no longer be able to afford these items from wet markets,” she said.
Earlier this week, Manila suspended the issuance of import clearances to institutional buyers, processors, and canners for certain frozen fish products as the government tightens its regulations on fish imports. (Related story: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2022/12/15/phl-suspends-issuance-of-spsics-for-frozen-fish/)
However, the national government would still allow certain institutional buyers and processors to import fish products as long as they comply with the additional regulatory requirements.
The DA issued AC 11 that suspended the issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPSICs) for roundscad, bonito, mackerel, moonfish, pampano and tuna.
The issuance of SPSIC is required prior to any food importation, as it certifies that the inbound shipments are safe for human consumption and do not pose any threat to the local animal health population.
In AC 11, Senior Agriculture Undersecretary Domingo F. Panganiban said the government suspended the SPSICs of certain fish imports for institutional buyers and processors to “prevent” the diversion of said supplies to the wet markets.
The AC 11 established a traceability system that allowed the government to monitor the movement of imported fish products by institutional buyers, processors and canners by requiring additional documents.
The spotlight was trained on the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in recent weeks following its intensified efforts to curb the diversion of frozen fish products for institutional buyers to wet markets.
Under existing rules and regulations, frozen fish products imported by institutional buyers and processors cannot be sold in the wet markets. Also, institutional buyers, processors and canners may import frozen fish products sans a certificate of necessity issued by pertinent authorities as long as they secure SPSICs for their inbound shipments.
BFAR’s recent campaign against the illegal diversion of imported fish products was cut short after some quarters and senators opposed it. They argued that the campaign would exacerbate the increase in local food prices, as it would create supply constraints.