The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) has set an updated requirement for Philippine exports of agri-fishery products. To meet this requirement, the Philippines must provide a list of establishments that plan to export these products. The certification process will be handled by the two recognized competent authorities (CAs) from the Philippines: the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) for fresh and frozen products, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for prepared, processed, and preserved products. 

Once the establishments are certified, the CAs will consolidate their respective list of approved establishments. It will then be forwarded to the Philippine Agriculture Attaché for endorsement to the SFDA. 

Moreover, there is a need to provide self-audit forms of companies duly signed and certified by the establishment’s inspector. The self-audit form may be downloaded through this link. Interested exporters shall submit a letter of intent and the duly accomplished self-audit forms to the appropriate CA. 

SFDA will conduct assessment of application documents and will issue an invoice addressed to the establishment for the payment of 27,000 SAR 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. 

On the export of shrimps, the KSA suspension was due to shrimp diseases such as Infectious Haematopoeitic Necrosis, White Spot Syndrome, and Acute Hepatopancreatic Disease. Adhering to the principle of regionalization, only application documents of establishments with farm sources and manufacturing plants that are located free from the aforesaid shrimp diseases will be assessed. 

The DTI - Export Marketing Bureau (EMB) strongly advises Philippine exporters to continue strict compliance with food safety regulations to ensure the continued acceptance of their products in Saudi Arabia and other export markets. 

For further questions and clarifications, you may contact the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) at fiqd@bfar.da.gov.ph or EMB Market and Product Officers at mid@dti.gov.ph and famd@dti.gov.ph respectively.