DA chief denies ‘supply drop, price hike’ of canned mackerel

AGRICULTURE SECRETARY Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said Thursday there is no reason for a supply drop and price increase in canned mackerel.

This came following the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) issuance of Department Administrative Order (DAO) 14, series of 2024, suspending the release of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances for round scad (galunggong), mackerel, and bonito.

"I do not believe iyong sinasabi nila. Basically, ang nakalagay doon sa aking (what's written in my) department administrative order, hindi naman sila mawawalan ng kanilang canned mackerel eh (they will not lose their supply of canned mackerel)," Laurel said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing in response to the concerns of Canned Sardines Association of the Philippines.

Laurel clarified that they can still import the same volume of mackerel for canning purposes, based on their product sales, subject to value-added tax (VAT).

"Kasi ang problema dito diversion eh. Kung pinasok nila iyan tapos dinivert [divert] nila, talagang masu-short sila (The problem here is the diversion. If they import and diverted it, they will be short [of supply])," he said.

"Pero kung ang VAT sales nila says ganito ang kanilang nabentang mackerel at may equivalent tonnage iyan (But if their VAT sales say this is their mackerel sales and with equivalent tonnage), they can still import," he added.

The Agriculture chief also underscored allowing additional import volume.

"Technically, they should be able to import 10 percent more of what they are using now. So, I don’t see any reason kung bakit sila nagpi-fear na masu-short sila eh (why are they worrying of being short of supply)," he said.

Laurel earlier said the issuance of DAO stemmed from reports of the alleged technical diversion of imported fish from institutional use, including canning and processing, to wet markets.

Initial reports claim that at least 90,000 to 100,000 tons of fish imports are diverted annually, or equivalent to 30,000 tons per quarter. (Stephanie Sevillano)