BFAR Central Visayas gets authority to issue export permits

Cebu-based exporters of fish and marine products can now secure health certificates and export permits from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) 7.

”This will answer problems of delays in shipment and collection of fees from exporters,” said Fred Escalona, executive officer of Confederation of Philippine Exporters Foundation (Philexport) Cebu Inc.

Escalona said exporters have been lobbying for “regionalization” or granting of authority to regional offices of national government agencies to issue export permits.

He said the centralized issuance of these documents causes unnecessary delays and higher costs in the export of fish and marine products, including those from Cebu.

Fish and marine products are highly perishable goods thus, a few days of delay in shipment would cause the goods to spoil, he added.

BFAR 7 fisheries inspection and quarantine services chief Jeffrey Cortes said after the regional office examines the goods, export permits will be issued within minutes instead of the usual processing period of one week.

”It will depend on the type of goods. For chilled products, it may take three to five days because we want to assure buyers it has gone through examination,” he said.

Exporters are advised to have their goods examined by the laboratory two weeks before the scheduled shipment.
While export permits will now be issued by BFAR 7, the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point certificate that is required by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States and in Europe, still have to be secured from the central office of the fisheries bureau.

According to the Philexport-Cebu website, BFAR Director Malcolm Sarmiento Jr. issued a “special order” last Oct. 12 delegating the issuance of health certificates and export permits to BFAR 7 director Dionisio dela Pena Jr.

Cortes reported that a team from the European Union had visited BFAR 7 to validate its laboratory facilities.
”We have upgraded our laboratories. They assured us that our laboratories are competent and ready for International Organization for Standardization (ISO) accreditation,” he said.

Cortes said the mission has already accredited the Bohol Agromarine Development Corp. in Tubigon, Bohol.
He is encouraging Cebu-based exporters to apply for accreditation.

Cortes also reported a strong demand for the province’s fish and marine products from Japan, Europe, the US and Korea. (PNA)