BFAR tightens fish import monitoring

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) will tighten its monitoring of the arrival and unloading of imported round scad (galunggong).

BFAR director and Agriculture Undersecretary Eduardo Gongona said the importation and unloading activities would adhere to a stringent set of guidelines.

“The general consuming public is assured that the imported galunggong will be unloaded only in BFAR accredited cold storage facilities and will undergo thorough inspection to ensure that the fish commodity that will enter Philippine markets are safe and free of harmful substances,” he said.

The importation will start Sept. 1 and will be sold wholesale at the Navotas fish port.

Last week, the Department of Agriculture decided to allow the importation of fresh or chilled or frozen galunggong to beef up supply in fresh markets.

The DA has already issued the certificate of necessity to import a maximum of 17,000 metric tons of galunggong for wet markets as a measure to stabilize price and supply.

Latest market monitoring showed that galunggong is still being sold at P160 to P200 per kilogram compared with its suggested retail price of P140.

Other fish commodities like tilapia and milkfish are being sold at P130 and P180 per kg, way above their SRP of P100 and P150 per kg, respectively.

This is not the first time that the Philippines has imported galunggong from other countries.

The country has been importing fresh or chilled or frozen fish and fishery and aquatic products including galunggong for canning and processing purposes, including importation undertaken by institutional buyers like hotels and restaurants as allowed by law.

While fisheries production in the country has improved in the second quarter after major sub-sectors increased their output, prices of the commodity remain high.

Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the sector reported a 2.64 percent expansion in output in the second quarter.

Fish was also among the biggest contributors of the continued increase in inflation.

The sector, which contributed 0.7 percentage points to the five-year high inflation rate of 5.7 percent in July, has been affected by the tax reform package of the government particularly on the excise tax on fuel.

Fishing operators are reducing fishing trips due to higher fuel costs, thereby reducing fish catch available in the market. About 70 percent of production cost of fisheries goes to fuel.