Fish import service fee set at ₱500/ton

The government is requiring traders to pay a service fee of P500 for every metric ton (MT) of fish they will import under the government’s small pelagic fish importation program, based on the supplemental guidelines issued by the Department of Agriculture (DA). This means that the government will earn as much as P30 million under the program, which allows eligible and accredited traders to bring in 60,000 MT of fish to beef up domestic supply. The DA has also required importers to ship their allocated volume from the country of origin within 20 days after receiving the sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance (SPS-IC) for their shipments.