Monday, December 11, 2006 SFFA II: Tuna industry's 'keeper' By Bong S. Sarmiento
"BEHIND every man's success is a woman." This adage may also be true for the country's tuna industry, in obvious reference to the men and women behind the organization that have steered it to where it rightfully belonged now.
In the last seven years, the Philippine tuna industry has been afloat, with the years ahead looking bright for the sector concentrated in this city, the undisputed "Tuna Capital of the Philippines."
It may have been otherwise if the various players in the tuna industry remained loosely disunited, which was the case in the 1980s to the early 1990s, when tuna started to become a serious business venture in this part of the country.
In 1999, the Socsksargen Federation of Fishing and Allied Industries Inc. (SFFAII), the "woman" behind the local tuna industry, was organized to strengthen the tuna industry as the sector is slowly gaining foothold in the global market.
From 1997 to 2004, figures processed by the Department of Trade and Industry in Central Mindanao showed that tuna products have become the top export earner in the region, edging out traditional export crops such as pineapple.
Canned and fresh tuna products contributed a whooping US$ 1.22 billion in export sales to the region's economy from 1997 to 2004, the DTI data said.
Currently, the tuna industry generates estimated annual revenues of P40 billion, or four percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product.
It is considered an important part of the national economy as it also provides jobs to some 120,000 people.
"If the federation has not been formed, I don't know if we can have these milestones," said Marfenio Y. Tan, federation president.
Tan, a local fishing tycoon who owns the SAFI Tuna Ventures Inc., said the major various players in the tuna industry have realized the need to bond for the sake of the growth of the sector.
The federation presently has membership base in the purse seine and handline fishing groups, tuna canneries and processors, aquaculture growers, equipment suppliers and support services providers in South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City.
By groups, the federation is composed of seven major fishing associations based in this city.
These are the Southern Philippines Boat Owners and Tuna Association, South Cotabato Purse Seiners Association, Tuna Cooperative of General Santos City and Umbrella Fish Landing Association.
The federation also includes the Tuna Canners Association of the Philippines-General Santos chapter, Fresh Frozen Seafood Association of the Philippines, Inc. and the Chamber of Aquaculture and Ancillary Industries of Sarangani Inc.
Tan said the federation has actually taken form through the initiatives of the Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM), a project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (Usaid).
"GEM has been providing us technical and funding support to ensure the sustainability and global competitiveness of the Philippine tuna industry," he added.
"Our support to the Fishing Federation is in line with GEM's effort, under its Business Support Organization (BSO) Development Program, to strengthen key BSOs in Mindanao to help accelerate economic growth and bring about and consolidate peace in the island", said Marlon G. Libot, GEM deputy program manager.
With the federation around, the tuna industry has found a voice that lobbies for policy reforms and other issues affecting the sector not only in the country but also abroad.
Former trade secretary and now Senator Mar Roxas acknowledged the important role of the federation in successfully lobbying for the tariff reduction of the country's canned tuna products in the European market.
In 2003, the federation, GEM, and concerned government agencies were able to convince the Council of Member States of the European Union to provide for a tariff rate quota (TRQ) for Philippine canned tuna products in the European market.
The TRQ, which is good for five years, allowed the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia to export 25,000 metric tons of canned tuna annually in the European market at a reduced 12% tariff from the previous 24%.
Tan said the federation was also able to seek parity with Andean canned tuna exports to the United States.
As a result, only Andean tuna in pouch (flexible airtight containers) was granted duty free access to the US market.
He noted this is advantageous to the Philippines considering that majority of the country's export to the US market are canned tuna products.
Another important achievement of the federation is its successful lobbying at the Senate for the ratification of the Multilateral High Level Convention (MHLC) on Highly Migratory and Straddling Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO).
The ratification makes the Philippines a full member of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.
This gives the country the right to participate in the formulation and implementation of management measures to help ensure sustainability of tuna resources in the WCPO, meaning the Philippines has a direct role in the formulation of the catch quota system in the rich Pacific fishing grounds.
Meanwhile, on fishing ground expansion, the federation has strongly pushed for the extension of the fisheries bilateral agreement between the Philippines and Indonesia.
Although negotiations for the extension of the Philippine-Indonesia fisheries agreement is still on-going, the Indonesian government has agreed to extend until December 2006 Philippine fishing vessel access licenses that should have expired between December 3, 2005 to May 31, 2006.
Moreover, both countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding on fisheries cooperation last February 23 in this city. It seeks to enhance trade ties between the two countries for the next five years.
At the local front, the federation, in the last few years has conducted a total of 67 fish quality improvement trainings involving 3,000 participants composed of freezer vessel crews, laborers and quality control personnel from 86 fishing companies and tuna processing plants.
The Philippine tuna industry is concentrated in this city, where six of eight tuna canneries are based. The two others are located in Zamboanga City.
The training program focused on fish quality standards such as the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point, Good Manufacturing Practices and the Sanitation Standard Operating Procedure.
The federation, in coordination with concerned government agencies, also initiated the creation of the General Santos Fishport Fish Quality Enhancement Multisectoral Task Force, which is chaired by the city mayor.
Domingo Teng, immediate past president of the federation, noted the initiative further enhanced the sanitation, fish unloading system and related practices at the fish port.
These include installation of foot baths at strategic locations, wearing of boots by the laborers and buyers and the use of plastic pallets or stainless steel tables, among others, at the fish port complex.
Teng, who is now a member of the federation's board of directors, said the initiative will be a continuing program of the federation, as espoused by the GEM program, to further promote fish quality enhancement measures with the goal of making the industry more sustainable and globally competitive.
Recently, the Senate committee on agriculture and food, chaired by Senator Ramon Magsaysay, Jr., adopted a bill creating a special law on tuna handline fishing.
The House of Representatives earlier approved House Bill 4067, or the Act Defining Handline Fishing and Providing Regulations for Utilization of Handline Fishing Boats."
The federation is actively involved in pushing for a special law on handline tuna fishing in the country.
Industry players expressed optimism the bill on handline tuna would soon become a special law.
In view of the need to address the problems affecting the Philippine tuna industry that undermines its potential as a major contributor to the national economy, the National Tuna Industry Council (NTIC), through the urging of the federation, was created to act as overall coordinating body to oversee the development of the tuna fisheries industry in the country.
The NTIC was created through a special order by the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Among the members of the NTIC are the DA's Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Philippine Fisheries and Development Authority, Department of Foreign Affairs and National Economic and Development Authority.
The NTIC has formulated the National Tuna Management Plan, where the federation provided significant inputs.
An excellent venue to bring together local and international industry leaders, stakeholders and supporters of the Philippines tuna industry to discuss various issues and concerns besetting the industry is the yearly national tuna congress.
The event has facilitated the resolution of several key policy issues, which have greatly contributed to the development of the Philippine tuna industry.
The federation, in collaboration with GEM and concerned government agencies, has successfully organized and conducted all eight tuna congress, with annual attendance of about 500 corporate chief executives and representatives of fishing companies and other industry players all over the country and abroad.
Owing to the Federation's various contributions to the growth of the tuna industry, it was feted the "Gawad Ugnayan at Pakikipagtulungan" award.
It's a recognition for the private sector's contribution to the fishery industry "for its constant and unwavering support to the plans and programs of the BFAR, leading to the sustainable utilization of fisheries that resulted to significant economic savings."
