THE PHILIPPINES said on Tuesday that the inclusion of Sardinella lemuru (tamban) on a global list of fishery products considered safe for trade and consumption will pave the way for the resumption of exports to Europe.
The decision, arrived at during the 47th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), will “open new markets for one of the Philippines’ key fish exports,” the Department of Agriculture (DA) said in a statement.
“This is welcome news for the fishery industry, a major export earner for the Philippines. This should stimulate new investments in the sector and create new jobs,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said.
The Philippines had carried out six years of advocacy and technical discussions led by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute to make the species exportable.
The agencies allotted P17 million for a study that addressed the technical criteria necessary for the species’ inclusion in the Codex.
The DA said Sardinella lemuru’s exclusion from the European Union’s (EU) Codex Standard for Canned Sardines and Sardine-Type Products (CXS 94-1981) had prompted European countries to stop importing the variety from 2016 to 2017, resulting “in the loss of hundreds of metric tons in exports.”
The process to include tamban, which is native to the Eastern Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific, began in 2018 when the EU Fisheries Agency encouraged the Philippines to pursue adding Sardinella lemuru to the Codex Standard.
In its decision last year, the Codex committee on fish and fishery products noted the species’ comparability to other sardine species and the sustainability of its fish stocks, the DA said.
Sardines were the Philippines’ seventh-largest fish export in 2022, accounting for 2.7% of the 282,674-metric ton total.
Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain accounted for 12% of the country’s sardine exports, the DA said.
“With the new inclusion in the Codex, Philippine sardine products are expected to gain wider access to these markets, ensuring a sustainable future for fishermen and exporters while contributing to global sustainability goals,” it said.
Sardine export volume rose to 9,154.31 metric tons in 2024, valued at $19.5 million, against 6,095.77 metric tons and $14.7 million a year earlier. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza