Exporters of fish and aquatic products keen to access the Saudi Arabian market are advised to submit a letter of intent and self-audit forms to be included among those companies that will be certified and approved by the Philippine government to export their products to the Kingdom, according to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).
BFAR in a new advisory said interested exporters should submit a letter of intent and the duly accomplished self-audit forms, making sure to provide complete information to avoid delays.
The advisory issued this month provides the latest updates and requirements for potential exporters of fish and fishery/aquatic products to Saudi Arabia.
It states that the Philippines will provide the Saudi Food & Drug Authority (SFDA) the following:
• List of establishments that intend to export agri-fishery products certified by the competent authority. The BFAR and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will consolidate the list and forward it to the agriculture attaché for proper endorsement to the SFDA
• Self-audit forms of companies duly signed and certified by the establishment’s inspector.
The self-audit form may be downloaded from https://sfda.gov.pg.sa/sites/default/files/2021-02/SelfAudit-en.docx.
The 14-page self-audit questionnaire contains 104 questions centering on concerns around cleanliness, environmental hazards, pollution, food contamination, sanitary inspections, and ventilation and lighting, among others.
For its part, the SFDA will assess the application documents and issue an invoice addressed to the establishment for the payment of a SAR27,000 (around P408,200) inspection fee.
“Companies which, per SFDA’s assessment, do not have a good chance of getting approved shall not be subjected to inspection by the SFDA,” said the advisory.
BFAR stressed that an invoice for the inspection fee is issued per unique registration number/product category. Hence, a company that is applying to two categories of products will be issued two invoices.
The SFDA will schedule a visit, giving the Philippines possible choices for the schedule. The duration of the inspection missions will depend on the number of applicants and the distance/travel time between establishments.
“The SFDA inspection schedule for 2023 is already full,” advises BFAR.
On the export of shrimp, meanwhile, the suspension by Saudi Arabia of this activity was due to shrimp diseases such as infectious hematopoietic necrosis, white spot syndrome, and acute hepatopancreatic disease.
Adhering to the principle of regionalization, only application documents from establishments with farm source and manufacturing plants that are located free from these shrimp diseases will be assessed, BFAR said.
For additional reference on the mechanism being followed by SFDA, exporters may visit the website https://www.sfda.gov.sa/en/regulations/69500.
According to figures from the Department of Trade and Industry, in 2022, Saudi Arabia ranked as the Philippines’ 16th major trading partner out of 231; 37th export market out of 213; and 13th import supplier out of 216.
Philippine exports to Saudi Arabia dropped by 8.55% from US$79.8 million in 2021 to $73 million in 2022, while imports from Saudi Arabia increased by 41.55% from $1,501 million in 2021 to $2,125 million in 2022.