Existing and aspiring marine exporters are called to comply with varying certifications or requirements for fish and fishery/aquatic products depending on the importing country, as the Philippines aims to conduct pre-shipment inspection on a risk-based basis.
Dennis de Vera, officer-in-charge at Fisheries Inspection and Quarantine Division of the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), said that although BFAR Fisheries Administrative Order No. 210 series of 2001 requires a mandatory pre-shipment inspection, they are amending the regulation to have such inspection prior to the export of fish and fishery products be conducted in a risk-based manner.
“There are different parameters in which the exporter will be evaluated. So these include the type of the product that they will export, the country that they will export, the history as an exporter, among others…,” he said in mixed English and Filipino during the recent Usapang Exports organized by the Department of Trade and Industry Export Marketing Bureau.
De Vera said pre-shipment inspection is the first stage in the process flow for export, followed by securing health certificate and export commodity clearance (ECC).
He said the health certificate is a written guarantee issued by the BFAR which attests that the fish products were handled and packed in hygienic manner, and these do not pose hazards that endanger the health of human, animal or plant type.
“This document is very important because it serves us in a way, this is our clearance in the importing country,” he added.
De Vera said pre-shipment inspection, health certificate and ECC are requirements the exporters need to comply with when securing different certifications.
“Different countries require different regulations or compliances although in general, countries such as Korea, Vietnam, China, EU (European Union), the US (United States) and other countries, one of the common requirements that they require is the BFAR-approved HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) plan of our exporters,” he added.
In 2023, de Vera said China accounted for 22 percent of the country’s export of fish and fishery/aquatic products, followed by Vietnam at 17 percent, US at 13 percent, Japan at 12 percent, and some other countries in ASEAN and EU member countries.
“Majority of our exports are tuna products that account for almost 50 percent of our exports and some others account for a minimal percentage,” he said, referring to Asian swamp eel, fishmeal and grouper, among others.
Further, de Vera bared that the agency is also gearing towards the digitalization of its services.
“At last, we are currently developing an online system for the application of ECC and form for local transport,” he said.
