Gov’t expands market for PH seafood traders

Government efforts to expand the market for local fisheries products gained headway as five Filipino seafood companies clinched an initial P193 million in deals with Japanese buyers.

The companies—PhilFresh, Bluefin Seafood Export, Nuevo Fresco Marine Trading, D&L Seafoods, and FRI Seafood Trading—attracted orders, mostly for tuna and octopus products, during the 15th Japan International Seafood and Technology Expo held in Tokyo in late August.

Agriculture Undersecretary Salvador S. Salacup said in a statement that this was the first time the Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) sponsored the participation of seafood exporters in a trade show.

“(The Filipino companies) are compliant with the European Union’s food safety requirements,” Salacup said.

The EU standard, which is based on Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points, or HACCP, is one of the world’s most stringent, the Agriculture official said.

PhilFresh, which is based in General Santos City, was able to sign up Tokyo-based Nippon Suisan Kaisha for the provision of an initial 10 tons of frozen tuna slices a month.

According to PhilFresh, the deal would ring up P119 million for a year and that orders could even double by next year.

Also, BlueFin Seafood engaged five Japanese buyers of octopus and squid products, securing orders for at least 100 tons worth an estimated P26 million.

According to BlueFin Seafood, there are pending deals with other interested buyers.

The company expects to hire more workers in the aftermath of its participation in the trade show.

The three other companies, which produce fresh chilled tuna, were able to negotiate combined sales worth P46.5 million.

They also managed to book orders worth P1.46 million.

During the trade show, other Japanese traders made inquiries about eel, abalone and shrimp products from the Philippines, said Drusila Esther E. Bayate, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources assistant director.

Bayate added that the government has taken advantage of the Philippines’ status as safe from EMS (early mortality syndrome), by promoting the export of white shrimps.

EMS reportedly was behind the mass death of young shrimps at farms in neighboring countries like Thailand and Indonesia.