Despite the global economic crisis, foreign fishers keep tuna unloading steadily at the fish port complex in General Santos City. According to a ranking fishery executive the average estimated unloading is 200 metric tons daily. Miguel B. Lamberte, Jr., local manager of the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority, which manages the local fish port complex, attributed the stable tuna supply to stocks caught by foreign-owned vessels.
He told that they have no problems with raw tuna materials, especially for the canneries. The tuna volume dropped here these days is almost the same as last year. Lanberte also said that official figures on tuna supplied here by foreign vessels have yet to be finalized, but such volume is way below that coming from local tuna fishers. In the second half of 2008, two wharves measuring a total of 430 meters that can accommodate 7,000 gross metric ton vessels were completed as part of the modernization of the 32-hectare fish port complex.
According to Lamberte despite the global economic crunch, canned tuna products remain in demand since it is a food commodity that can be availed at a low price by consumers in other countries. Based on the March 2009 preliminary merchandise export performance released last week by the National Statistics Office (NSO), tuna was one of two commodities — the other being gold — that posted growth among the country’s top 10 export products.
The report revealed that tuna surged by 7.3 percent to $29.49 million in March 2009 compared with the same period last year, while gold posted slightly higher growth of 8.6 percent with an export value of $39.33 million. The NSO report also said that tuna’s positive performance was anchored on fresh, frozen, prepared or preserved in airtight containers (canned tuna).
