DA extends issuance of fish import permit till June

Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.

MANILA, Philippines — Tight importation schedules and supply issues prompted the Department of Agriculture (DA) to extend the issuance of fish import permits to June.

In a statement on Tuesday, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. attributed the slowdown in the arrival of fish imports to a systemic issue rather than low demand.

“The timeframes we set were too short, and many of the approved products were out of season in their countries of origin. It was also challenging for some importers to meet requirements tied to larger volume allocations,” Tiu Laurel said in a statement on Tuesday.

Tiu Laurel said only a quarter of the 25,000 metric tons (MT) of fish approved for importation have been brought into the country.

The agriculture chief is confident that the remaining import volume would be fully utilized following the extension.

The DA recently issued Memorandum Order No. 27 providing additional guidelines on importing various frozen fish and seafood products.

Among these, the agency further extended the period for issuing sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPSICs) to June 30 this year from April previously.

Eligible importers who have yet to utilize their initial allocation of 56 metric tons and subsequent 140 MT were given until May 23 to apply for the combined volume.

“Failure to meet the said deadline will be a basis for the forfeiture of the individual allocation and which will then be included in the importation volume for other qualified importers,” the May 27 order read.

The DA authorized the entry of imported fish and seafood to avert any potential price surge, particularly in the food service, tourism and hospitality industries. These were initially scheduled to arrive between March and May in order not to affect the local industry.

These include salmon, cod, tuna by-products, squid, scallops, octopus and lobster, none of which are sourced locally in sufficient quantities. Tiu Laurel said the DA included sardines on the list of importable species as it can help lower prices.

“We allowed sardine imports because it was off-season in some of our local fishing grounds, and sardines are the most affordable fish available to help address inflation concerns,” he added.

The importation is open to registered importers who have been accredited for at least one year before the order was promulgated and participated in previous rounds.