Tuna Industry in Philippines

With the Philippine seas south of Mindanao already over fished, local tunny producers have looked beyond the countrys fishing lawsuit for their operations. Marfenio Tan, former president of the Socsksargen Federation of Fishing and Allied Industry (SFFAI), continues to reminisce the days when they had to bury tons of tuna catches on the beaches because there were simply abundant supplies and demand could not cope, if not non-existent. During the stretch when the industry became the single top dollar earner commodity for Mindanao, several companies had also emerged, especially in the new 1980s and early 1990s.But the industry is going full circle again following the 2008 global collapse of several financial institutions and renewed oil colour price crisis. Fishing is a PhP50 billion industry in the Philippines, contributing about 4% of the countrys GNP. With an annual production volume of 2. 4 million mensurable tons of fish, it directly provides livelihood and employment to ove r one million Filipinos Tuna have high moneymaking(prenominal) value post- yield technology equipment needed to prolong the shelf-life of tuna and other species of fish, are made available, thus playing a vital role for trading and other post harvest activities.The proximity of the city to tuna-rich fishing grounds including the Moro gulf, Sulu Sea, Mindanao Sea and adjacent Celebes Sea which are known centers of tuna abundance, is great advantage. As of September of the previous twelvemonth alone, the total catch has reached a voluminous 5,031, 866 kilos where sashimi grade adult tuna comprises 35 % or about 1,774,922 kilos. The locally distributed adult tuna for local usage ate the largely 65% chunk and distributed to neighboring cities of Davao, Bukidnon, Cagayan de Oro, Surigao, South Cotabato and as far Japan and the U. S. skipjack for canned markets in Europe and North America. The tuna sector accounts for 12 percent of total fish production and employs about 120,000 worker s. Tuna industry contributes government pursues a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Euopean kernel (EU), only the tuna industry is bound to benefit from it. 24% tuna sector shipments in the tariffs in Europe Accourding to sir Soriano, tuna from the Philippines are being shipped inside 24 hours to anywhere in the world. * Frozen * Large tax incentives * Fast money return -Industry data showed that exports of fresh and canned tuna reached $284 million in 2011.The Board of Investments (BOI) has approved tax incentives for a P120-million expansion project of a GenSan-based tuna firm that produces choice portions of tuna for export. The expansion will start commercial operations in February, 2013, and is expected to generate jobs. It will help boost the countrys tuna exports. Currently, tuna catch here is about 1,000 metric tons daily and earns export revenues of about $300 million annually. It is the leading supplier of canned tuna, high value sashimi tuna and tuna steaks to the Japa nese, European and American markets.