|
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Espinoza: Bright outlook for tuna, oyster sellers
By Fred C. Espinoza
PREFERENTIAL TARIFF. Things are looking up for the fledgling tuna industry in the country nowadays after the European Court of Justice dismissed Spain’s petition seeking to remove the preferential tariff given to Manila. The ruling allows the Philippines to keep intact its $80 million (P4.4 billion) export share in the 25-member European Union (EU).
A couple of years ago, I thought that the fledgling Philippine tuna industry would not be able to withstand the intense pressure exerted by developed nations in the world market against exports of canned tuna from small nations.
I could still remember how President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo tried to secure preferential treatment for Philippine tuna exports to the United States only for her appeal to be ignored by President Bush. Bush had decided instead to extend such benefits to the tuna exporters from the Andean States, perhaps as a reward for helping Uncle Sam ward off the threat of the elicit drug trade from those areas.
The EC regulation resulted from representations made by the Philippine government for the bloc to lower its export taxes from 24 to 12 percent.
The current 12 percent reduced tariff applies to the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia. The three countries collectively have a quota of 25,000 tons of canned tuna export for five years. Of this quota, 36 percent or almost 9,000 tons of annual volume goes to the Philippines.
Before the adoption of the EC regulation in June 2003, only African, Caribbean and Pacific states enjoyed reduced duty for canned tuna. In 2002, the case was brought to the World Trade Organization, which ruled in favor of the Philippines.
The victory of the Philippines may have been due to the leadership of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). After Spain filed the case in December 2003, then DFA Secretary Blas Ople appealed for greater market access for the local tuna industry at the Asia-European Leaders’ Summit in Copenhagen.
The Philippine tuna canning industry is located in Mindanao and supports about 150,000 people from the fishing to the canning stages, reports said.
In 2003, the Philippines sold more than $80 million worth of canned tuna products to the EU, accounting for 54.31 percent of the entire tuna export gains for that year.
FISH WITHOUT WATER. Here’s another wonderful development in the fishing industry, which would be of great interest to fishermen and consumers of fresh marine products here and abroad. The latest report said that the Filipino who found a way to “ship fish without water has been able to increase the length of time the fish are without water from 12 to 24 hours.”
Bonifacio Comandante said this would boost the competitiveness of fish traders in the world market.
“We have been successful in putting fish to sleep for 24 hours,” said Comandante, who arrived in Dumaguete City last week from San Francisco USA, where he won the Best International Business Award in the University of San Francisco Business Plan Competition.
He told a news conference on Tuesday that the technology to put the fish to sleep may be applied successfully to prawns, which can be put to sleep for as long as 12 hours. Oysters, he said, may be put to sleep for the longest time—48 hours.
At present, oysters are shipped from Zamboanga to Manila using the conventional method. They are placed in ordinary containers filled with seawater, but they still post a 50 percent mortality rate upon reaching Manila.
The breakthrough will surely spark interest, especially in Japan, China, Taiwan and Korea, where consumers put a premium on live marine products.
He said he has received pledges of $4.5 million from his Australian partners to do research on shipping live tuna without water. The studies will be done within the next two years.
(April 5, 2005 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
SUPERBALITA
WEEKEND
|
