DA to reduce tuna export fees by 3 percent

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has agreed to reduce three percent from existing tuna export fees in order to help the ailing industry. In a statement issued on Sunday, it said that Secretary Proceso Alcala has announced the decision during a speech at the 13th National Tuna Congress in General Santos City. The move will amend Fisheries Administrative Order (FAO) 233 issues in 2010, which determined the fees for the issuance of export/re-export permits or three percent of export value. The fee went down to 0.2 percent for all fish varieties caught in local waters. Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) director Asis Perez said the reduced fee is equal to P1,650 or 0.2 percent of raw fish material, computed from last year’s average wholesale price based on price surveys conducted by the Agricultural Statistics Bureau. SOCSKSARGEN Federation of Fishing and Allied Industries, Inc. (SFFAII) said that the previous three percent export fee was a burden and disincentive for exporters because it would result in the price rise of tuna products, making them less competitive in the world market. FAO 233 was promulgated by the National Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council (NFARMC), a multi-sectoral advisory group under the DA-BFAR, in according with the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act of 2001. On July 22, the NFARMC approved the recommendation to reduce the three percent export fee for captured aquatic wildlife like tuna, in accordance with consultations with the tuna industry. The tuna sector is going through hard times because of a ban on fishing in the high seas by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) since January 1, 2010. In 2010, the country’s tuna production reached 387,101 metric tons (MT), or nine percent less than the output in 2008. Of the total output, commercial fish catch comprised 70 percent or 271,625 MT, a 14 percent drop compared to 2008, SFFAII said. Last year, the total value of commercial fish production hit P17 billion, of which 63 percent or P10.7 billion came from the SOCSKSARGEN region. Total tuna exports in 2010, meanwhile, were valued at $359.4 million, of which 70 percent was in canned form and the rest was either fresh, chilled, or frozen. In 2010, however, canned tuna exports went down eight percent compared to the year before, according to the SFFAII. — Bea Cupin/KBK, GMA News