Lifting of import ban on feed inputs urged

MANILA, Philippines — Aquaculture stakeholders are calling on the government to lift the importation ban on processed animal proteins used for feeds to ensure that fish prices will remain affordable amid rising costs of other commodities.

Agriculture groups said the Department of Agriculture (DA) should move to again allow the importation of porcine processed animal protein, particularly from Italy, which is a byproduct of pig slaughterhouses.

The DA suspended such importation when it imposed a pork import ban on Italy due to the African swine fever (ASF).

Oversea Feeds Corp. vice president Chris Co said countries are now scrambling to secure their supply as prices of several agriculture commodities are on the rise amid global tensions.

“We understand that we need to protect our food industry, but we also need to be more realistic in our restrictions,” Co said.

Aquaculture commodities such as tilapia and milkfish or bangus are highly dependent on aquaculture feeds, and such feeds have significant protein requirements including processed animal protein and soybean, which are not produced locally.

Adrienne Nera of the Taal Lake Aquaculture Alliance Inc. said 26,000 to 30,000 bags of feed are used for tilapia and bangus in Taal Lake.

Over 40 percent of fish produced in Taal Lake is transported and supplied to Metro Manila.

“Every time there is a disruption in the supply chain, it would affect the weight of the fish. The usual couple of days or months of supposed harvest would be extended,” Nera said.

“And it is not every day that we have good weather, plus the threat of Taal Volcano is still there,” he said.

The aquaculture industry is requesting the DA to allow the entry of feed inputs, saying that failure to do so may be problematic and detrimental to the industry.