Agriculture Secretary William Dar and Deputy Director Soo-jin Cho, with Assistant Director Chan-hwei Lee of the Imported Food Inspection Management under the Korea Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) met recently to complete the plans for the Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) on Food Safety of Philippine Exports to Korea.
Dar underscored the importance of the MRA meeting as it will build better relationships between the two countries and usher in increased exports of Philippine seafood and fisheries products while ensuring food safety for the Korean consumers.
“The MRA will also facilitate digitalization and efficient export document submission through the implementation of e-health certification of fresh and processed fishery products from the Philippines bound for Korea.”
“The MRA will also facilitate digitalization and efficient export document submission through the implementation of e-health certification of fresh and processed fishery products from the Philippines bound for Korea,” said Maria Aleli Maghirang, agriculture attaché to Korea.
The Korean mission also visited Cebu and General Santos to inspect the operations and food safety compliance of three Filipino agri-fishery processing business firms, namely: Siargao Bounty Seafood Corp.; Philippine Union Frozen Fish Inc.; and MK Smoked Fish Corporation.
They are leading exporters of Philippine octopus, abalone, and smoked fish to Korea.
Last December, the Philippine Agriculture Office (PAO) in Seoul facilitated and finalized the signing of the Special MRA between MFDS and the Department of Agriculture – Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) which will be finally executed on June 20, 2022.
According to MFDS, among the nine countries that have an MRA, the Philippines is to date the fastest to implement after six months of finalization. The country will also be the first among the fisheries trading partners of MFDS to adopt the e-certification system, Cho explained.
“The Philippines enjoys a favorable balance of trade with Korea, despite some production and logistical challenges during the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“The Philippines enjoys a favorable balance of trade with Korea, despite some production and logistical challenges during the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, registering a surplus of more than $288 million (M) last year,” the agriculture chief said.
“In 2021, the Philippines exported $526M worth of various farm and fishery products, which is 20 percent (%) higher than in 2020,” Maghirang said.
“Of the total, fishery products amounted to $29.5M last year, majority of which are high-value products like octopus, abalone, black tiger prawns, sea cucumber, and smoked tuna,” he added.
Dar also expressed his gratitude and appreciation to the MFDS for donating pesticide analytical equipment, through another Korea ODA project, to enhance the capability of the DA’s Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) to further boost exports of fresh Philippine fruits to Korea.
The agriculture head also requested the MFDS Director for a similar intervention and continued support and technical assistance to the DA-BFAR to improve and modernize its laboratory equipment which will pave the way for more exports of fishery products to Korea.
