PH eyes more rice, fish imports
Published Aug 27, 2018 03:28 pm
By Reuters and Madelaine Miraflor
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said on Monday he has proposed the importation of an additional 132,000 tons (T) of rice by the private sector to address “very limited” supplies of the staple food in the country's southern provinces.
Department of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pinol
(AP Photo/Bullit Marquez / MANILA BULLETIN) Piñol said he had formally recommended the “special” importation to President Duterte, and the National Food Authority (NFA) Council would meet on Tuesday to consider the request. The Department of Agriculture (DA) chief likewise said there was nothing wrong with the forthcoming importation of 17,000 metric tons (MT) of galunggong, which will be sold directly to local markets – the first time to happen since imported galunggong is normally meant for processing and canning purposes only. The additional demand for rice could help underpin export prices in Vietnam and Thailand, traditionally its main suppliers, which have already shipped in more than 1 million tons this year. In Vietnam, export prices of rice have been flat this month after falling steeply in June and July, although traders have reported rumors about possible new deals with the Philippines. Piñol said residents of the provinces of Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, and Basilan and Zamboanga City in Mindanohave been scrambling for rice supplies in recent weeks following a crackdown on smuggling. The southern regions have for years relied on smuggled rice believed to come from Vietnam and Thailand, shipped via the Malaysian state of Sabah, forcing local farmers to quit rice growing, he said. Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and Duterte met last month and agreed to stop smuggling activities in the countries' borders, he said. The move curbed smuggling but it had resulted in a crisis, Piñol said in a statement posted on his Facebook page. More smuggled rice On Monday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported that two vessels loaded with 22,000 sacks of smuggled rice were intercepted off Basilan during maritime patrol Friday. Men from the Coast Guard District South Western Mindanao onboard Multi-Role Response Vessel 4408 (BRP Cape San Agustin) were conducting a maritime patrol off Tamuk Island in Basilan when they spotted ML “Overseas” at 4 p.m. Upon inspection, 10,000 sacks of rice were discovered inside the vessel without no pertinent documents. The sacks of rice were then confiscated by the Coast Guard. Twenty minutes later, another vessel marked as M/L “Nadeepa” were found to have been carrying 12,000 undocumented sacks of rice. The ship was intercepted off West of Maluso, Basilan. Both vessels were apprehended and escorted to Zamboanga City Port. The vessels including the sacks of rice will be turned over to the local Bureau of Customs officials for proper disposition. Last week, Zamboanga City and Isabela City in Basilan declared a state of calamity, citing the high prices of rice, he said. Piñol described the situation in Tawi-Tawi as “precarious” as residents lined up for rice at prices as high as 100 pesos ($1.88) per kilogram, almost triple the price of government-subsidized rice. “The rice crisis was declared to have ended the other day in Zamboanga City with the arrival of new rice stocks from farmers’ cooperatives ... and the NFA, (but) Basilan, Sulu and Tawitawi are still gripped with very limited supply of rice,”Piñol said. Imported galunggong Meanwhile, the government recently allowed the importation of fresh, chilled, and frozen galunggong (round scad) to augment the local supply in the fresh markets as well as stabilize the prices. And for the purpose of conserving the country's fish supply, Piñol said importation will now be a common practice at the fisheries sector. “It's part of fish conservation program. We really have to put up a system and importation is only one of them. We also have to develop our aquaculture and mariculture program,”Piñol said. The pending galunggong importation is set to take effect on September 1, just in time for the closed fishing season across different municipal waters. The closed season in the country's major fishing grounds stretches from October to February. Piñol said that during the same period next year, the country may import again as "part of a long-term program" the administration will implement and amid the declining fish supply. This program, according to him, involves re-shaping what would comprise the country's fish supply – which should only be 40 percent captured fish and 60 percent aquaculture and mariculture. ‘Band-aid solution’ Piñol's statement came at a time when a lawmaker said the decision of DA to bring in some P1.4 billion worth of galunggong imports is only a “band-aid solution.” “It is a band-aid solution that does not really address the problem of falling fish production. It is a miserable supply side intervention,” Buhay Rep. LitoAtienza, the senior deputy minority leader, said. The 17,000 MT of imported galunggong is expected to have a landed cost of P75 to P80 per kilo and would be sold directly in local wet markets. “What difference will 17 million kilos make? That is just equal to 17 million households consuming one kilo each in a day. Ubosna ‘yansaloobngisangarawlang,” Atienza said. “The best way for the government to fight off rising fish or food prices for that matter is by producing more fish and more food,” he added. But for the record, Piñol said that there is really no shortage of galunggong in the country. The problem is the fishermen couldn't catch them. “We are coming up with a new design for fishing boats that will help fishermen increase their catch as well as reach areas where they catch more fish,”Piñol said. In the meantime, the government may also allow bigger commercial fishing boats to enter certain fishing zones to let them catch what small fishermen couldn't. The annual fishing ban was enforced by BFAR through a Fisheries Administrative Order mainly to implement the agency's fisheries resource management program. For its part, BFAR assures that the importation and unloading activities will adhere to a stringent set of guidelines and will be strictly monitored by the BFAR and Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA). More importantly, the general consuming public is assured that the imported galunggong will be unloaded only in BFAR accredited cold storage facilities and will undergo thorough inspection to ensure that the fish commodity that will enter Philippine markets are safe and free of harmful substances. (With a report from Betheena Unite)
Department of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pinol(AP Photo/Bullit Marquez / MANILA BULLETIN) Piñol said he had formally recommended the “special” importation to President Duterte, and the National Food Authority (NFA) Council would meet on Tuesday to consider the request. The Department of Agriculture (DA) chief likewise said there was nothing wrong with the forthcoming importation of 17,000 metric tons (MT) of galunggong, which will be sold directly to local markets – the first time to happen since imported galunggong is normally meant for processing and canning purposes only. The additional demand for rice could help underpin export prices in Vietnam and Thailand, traditionally its main suppliers, which have already shipped in more than 1 million tons this year. In Vietnam, export prices of rice have been flat this month after falling steeply in June and July, although traders have reported rumors about possible new deals with the Philippines. Piñol said residents of the provinces of Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, and Basilan and Zamboanga City in Mindanohave been scrambling for rice supplies in recent weeks following a crackdown on smuggling. The southern regions have for years relied on smuggled rice believed to come from Vietnam and Thailand, shipped via the Malaysian state of Sabah, forcing local farmers to quit rice growing, he said. Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and Duterte met last month and agreed to stop smuggling activities in the countries' borders, he said. The move curbed smuggling but it had resulted in a crisis, Piñol said in a statement posted on his Facebook page. More smuggled rice On Monday, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported that two vessels loaded with 22,000 sacks of smuggled rice were intercepted off Basilan during maritime patrol Friday. Men from the Coast Guard District South Western Mindanao onboard Multi-Role Response Vessel 4408 (BRP Cape San Agustin) were conducting a maritime patrol off Tamuk Island in Basilan when they spotted ML “Overseas” at 4 p.m. Upon inspection, 10,000 sacks of rice were discovered inside the vessel without no pertinent documents. The sacks of rice were then confiscated by the Coast Guard. Twenty minutes later, another vessel marked as M/L “Nadeepa” were found to have been carrying 12,000 undocumented sacks of rice. The ship was intercepted off West of Maluso, Basilan. Both vessels were apprehended and escorted to Zamboanga City Port. The vessels including the sacks of rice will be turned over to the local Bureau of Customs officials for proper disposition. Last week, Zamboanga City and Isabela City in Basilan declared a state of calamity, citing the high prices of rice, he said. Piñol described the situation in Tawi-Tawi as “precarious” as residents lined up for rice at prices as high as 100 pesos ($1.88) per kilogram, almost triple the price of government-subsidized rice. “The rice crisis was declared to have ended the other day in Zamboanga City with the arrival of new rice stocks from farmers’ cooperatives ... and the NFA, (but) Basilan, Sulu and Tawitawi are still gripped with very limited supply of rice,”Piñol said. Imported galunggong Meanwhile, the government recently allowed the importation of fresh, chilled, and frozen galunggong (round scad) to augment the local supply in the fresh markets as well as stabilize the prices. And for the purpose of conserving the country's fish supply, Piñol said importation will now be a common practice at the fisheries sector. “It's part of fish conservation program. We really have to put up a system and importation is only one of them. We also have to develop our aquaculture and mariculture program,”Piñol said. The pending galunggong importation is set to take effect on September 1, just in time for the closed fishing season across different municipal waters. The closed season in the country's major fishing grounds stretches from October to February. Piñol said that during the same period next year, the country may import again as "part of a long-term program" the administration will implement and amid the declining fish supply. This program, according to him, involves re-shaping what would comprise the country's fish supply – which should only be 40 percent captured fish and 60 percent aquaculture and mariculture. ‘Band-aid solution’ Piñol's statement came at a time when a lawmaker said the decision of DA to bring in some P1.4 billion worth of galunggong imports is only a “band-aid solution.” “It is a band-aid solution that does not really address the problem of falling fish production. It is a miserable supply side intervention,” Buhay Rep. LitoAtienza, the senior deputy minority leader, said. The 17,000 MT of imported galunggong is expected to have a landed cost of P75 to P80 per kilo and would be sold directly in local wet markets. “What difference will 17 million kilos make? That is just equal to 17 million households consuming one kilo each in a day. Ubosna ‘yansaloobngisangarawlang,” Atienza said. “The best way for the government to fight off rising fish or food prices for that matter is by producing more fish and more food,” he added. But for the record, Piñol said that there is really no shortage of galunggong in the country. The problem is the fishermen couldn't catch them. “We are coming up with a new design for fishing boats that will help fishermen increase their catch as well as reach areas where they catch more fish,”Piñol said. In the meantime, the government may also allow bigger commercial fishing boats to enter certain fishing zones to let them catch what small fishermen couldn't. The annual fishing ban was enforced by BFAR through a Fisheries Administrative Order mainly to implement the agency's fisheries resource management program. For its part, BFAR assures that the importation and unloading activities will adhere to a stringent set of guidelines and will be strictly monitored by the BFAR and Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA). More importantly, the general consuming public is assured that the imported galunggong will be unloaded only in BFAR accredited cold storage facilities and will undergo thorough inspection to ensure that the fish commodity that will enter Philippine markets are safe and free of harmful substances. (With a report from Betheena Unite)