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The Department of Agriculture suspended the issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance for the importation of various fishes including pompano, mackerel and tuna
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The policy aims to prevent illegal diversion of the fishes to local wet markets
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DA Administrative Circular No. 11-2022 suspends the issuance of SPSICs for the importation of frozen roundscad, bonito, mackerel, moonfish, pompano, and tuna by-products under Fisheries Administrative Order No. 195 for canning, processing, and institutional buyers
The Department of Agriculture (DA) has suspended the issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance (SPSIC) for the importation of various fishes, including pompano, mackerel and tuna.
The decision was handed down to prevent illegal diversion to local wet markets of certain imported fishes.
DA Administrative Circular No. 11 series of 2022 (AC 11-2022) dated December 13 suspends the issuance of SPSICs for the importation of frozen roundscad, bonito, mackerel, moonfish, pompano, and tuna by-products under Fisheries Administrative Order (FAO) No. 195.
FAO 195 establishes the rules and regulations governing importation of fresh/chilled/frozen and fishery aquatic products.
Under AC 11-2022, the issuance of SPS is suspended for the importation of roundscad and moonfish for canning purposes; and the importation of roundscad, bonito, mackerel, and moonfish for institutional buyers.
The issuance of SPSICs for the importation of roundscad, bonito, mackerel, moonfish, pompano and tuna by-products for processing purposes is also suspended except if the importation is to be directly undertaken by processors and by importers who supply raw materials to processors with License to Operate (LTO) issued by Food and Drug Administration, compliant to the Food Safety Standards provided under the Food Safety Act, and with a verifiable recording system of production.
For importers supplying raw materials to processors, the species and volume of the products to be imported and the receiving processors must be pre-identified in the application of the SPSIC and should not be allowed to be supplied to any other processor.
Importation destined for new processors will be allowed only upon verification by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) of the production capacity of the new processor.
Also allowed is the importation of pompano and tuna by-products for institutional buyers provided the buyer meets certain conditions, such as having a verifiable recording system.
Prior to issuance of the subsequent SPSICs, importers under FAO 195 must submit a disposition report of their previous importation to be verified by the BFAR.
All importations under FAO 195 should be recorded or submitted by importers to an electronic recording system prescribed by BFAR within 24 hours from the time of delivery by the importer to the processor or institutional buyer.
Importers allowed to import for processing and for institutional buyers are solitarily liable with their client processor or institutional buyer for violation of importation rules and regulations, including diversion of the imported products to wet markets. The accreditation of importers found liable for this violation will be automatically revoked.
Moreover, submission of false report, false information, or forged documents will be considered as violation of import rules and regulations in relation to Section 105 of the Amended Fisheries Code.
The suspension comes after BFAR said it will review FAO 195 “to come up with a more responsive and more efficient regulation on the importation of fish and fishery products.”
Earlier, BFAR announced it will prohibit the sale of various imported fish products, such as salmon and pampano, in wet markets pursuant to FAO 195, which allows traders to import frozen fish, like pompano and salmon, for institutionalized buyers like restaurants and hotels.
BFAR, however, issued a moratorium on the ban after lawmakers and stakeholders questioned BFAR’s decision to ban the sale of such varieties in wet markets. – Roumina Pablo
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