Tuna auction – General Santos
Yellow fin tuna are auctioned at the tuna port in General Santos on Sarangani Bay in southern Mindanao.
The small harbor is so packed with fishing boats that rafts are used to bring the fish from the boats that can not get a berth at the dock.
A tube is inserted into the fish to take a core sample of the meat to determine it’s grade. The value of the fish varies greatly influenced by how much the fish was stressed during it’s capture and how well the fish was iced down after the catch.
Big money changes hands at this auction and the fish are shipped to Tokyo, Seoul, San Fransisco and other places by air as soon as the auction is over. The lower grade tuna is for local consumption.
Usually it takes an invite by one of the buyers to gain access to the auction because the action is fast and fierce and they don’t want a bunch of tourists getting in the way.
Tuna Auction
mag kano ang buong tuna fish? pati yong slice?
Hi felipe,
Tuna buying at the wholesale market is a lot like betting at a cock fight – that is – there are subtle and fast ways to place your money and you have to be in the inner circle to do it.
Grading is everything – a whole tuna (buong tuna fish) can vary from almost worthless to over a thousand dollars for just one fish.
All the top quality stuff goes for export and is flown out that day. The second and third rate stuff is consumed domestically (within the Philippines)
I never bought any tuna yet because one of my friends is a buyer and brings some over at the end of the day.
The tuna jaws are very delicious as well!
cheers
dp
Local markets will sell the tuna by the slice (or kilo).
There is a huge art to doing it professionally and just buying a slice at a local fish market.
At the wholesale market, the fish are only sold as a complete fish.
You really almost need an invite to attend because the buyers don’t want a bunch of camera toting tourists getting in their way.
dp
Gud pm. .
I just want to know who are among the Tuna broker or company in Manila who buys tuna and sell the fish in the world market.
Hello Frank,
Thanks for your comment. I believe that almost all of the buying of tuna is done on the docks at the fish auction in General Santos.
It is then flown to destinations around the world.
Perhaps it would be a better idea to contract with a local buyer in Gen San.
I just love that tuna!
dp
gusto ko sana mag business nag export nag tuna pls contact me asap i have a lot buyer
samalat
Hello lany,
dutchpickle does not actually broker the tuna, we are more of a traveler’s information site.
Try to get a hold of one of the brokers in General Santos by making a trip down there in person. Grading tuna is a highly refined art, and the price per kilo is not nearly as important as the quality. It is a big money game and you have to know and trust your buyer.
ingats
dp
Hi, I;ll be travelling there this wednesday Sept 9, 1 day lang ang time ko,coz will be tavelling back on thursday, where can I buy whole sale tuna fillet?
Thank you
cez
Hello cecile,
All of the buying at the auction is for whole fish and they are very expensive. I do not know where to buy smaller lots.
The tuna take has been way down this year and the action at the fish auction is fast and furious and over quickly.
It’s not a place for amateurs, but you could inquire around and see if any of the local buyers can sell you a part of a fish. All the first quality stuff is sold at high dollar for overseas markets.
Consider picking up some tuna jaws – they are delicious.
dp
Hello,
kindly give me an info how to get 2 tonnes/week of yellow P tuna in japanese standard. plus the price amount/dollars a kilo FOB Manila and FOB Tokyo.
its meeh!~
allan
Hello allan,
The yellowfin catch is way down this year.
No disrespect, but you are obviously not a fish buyer.
Every fish is graded individually and the price fluctuates. Dealing in quantities like that would require a trusted buyer/grader on site or you would go bankrupt in short order.
cheers
dp
hi poh…
gusto ko po sanang magbizniz ng tuna choriso?ang problem ay di ko alam sa gen san ang nag papabili ng grind tuna, at sana po mabigyan nyo ako ng recipe …thank po
Hello sha,
The idea of starting a new business is great but I can not be of much help to you on this.
I don’t have any recipes for tuna choriso, but there must be friends that could help out with that.
The other difficulty is that the tuna sold at auction in Gen San goes for very high prices because it is destined for the international market to be on the menu at upscale restaurants.
It would not be cost effective to buy this prime fish and then grind it up!
…maybe try a different angle.
cheers
dp
Hello there! :-)
I wonder if someone here know the price for this day, 2009-10-24,direct from the boat in gensan port for different kinds of tuna. Does 160 peso for the most common tuna(is that blue tuna?)sound like a fair price? And if you donĀ“t know is there anywhere in internet I can find the prices, or example prices?
Hello Mattias,
Yellowfin tuna – every fish commands a different price depending on the grading.
Only whole fish are sold at the fish auction in General Santos. There are some fish markets in town where you can buy tuna jaws and tuna by the kilo but it is generally a lower grade fish not up to standards for the international market.
You have to know what you are doing in this business because big money is exchanging hands and you are competing with experts.
Good luck,
dp
Hello Dutch,
Nice website. Thanks for your insights into the Philippine culture. I’ve got a Cebuana that I’ve been visiting for over 2 years now. I’ll be back in April 2010. I hope to make it over to Samar or Leyte someday but this trip will be mostly Palawan and Cebu (I only have 2 weeks). There’s a lot I don’t like about visiting the Philippines but hopefully we’ll find some good food, strong coffee and a quiet place more to my liking this time. I’m sure we’ll check your website for more ideas when we know exactly where we will be.
Brian
Hello Brian,
Consider spending the entire 2 weeks in Palawan!
http://www.dutchpickle.com/philippines/palawan
For outstanding food be sure to stop in at Ka Louis Restaurant in Puerto Princessa. This is possibly one of the best restaurants in the Philippines and the cost is reasonable!
http://www.dutchpickle.com/philippines/palawan/ka-luis-restaurant.html
cheers
dp
do we have to be early to see the tuna fish at the fish port? What time?
thanks,
paul
Hi Paul,
The auction does not go on very long now because there has been a lot less tuna caught then there used to be.
There is a security gate so you might be turned away if you don’t come with a buyer.
dp
we are looking for a buyer of tuna about 2 tons per week
Sir Good morning
Pwede ko po ba malaman kung magkano ang 1 whole tuna?lower price and a high price balak kc po namin mag-ama na mag tuna Fishing.tnx po
Hello Midel,
Every fish is sold according to it’s grade at auction on the docks. You must be an expert to get involved in this.
…all fish have different weights as well and are sold whole – these two factors will affect the price. Then you will have to ship the fish. Almost all high grade tuna are sent to the export market by air soon after they are purchased.
The tuna that fetch a lower price due to lower quality will be consumed by the local markets. These are not necessarily sold whole.
A fresh tuna in top condition will be very very expensive as you will be competing with Japanese buyers that demand quality and are willing to pay for it.
dp
we are trying to find out if we can buy Cod or Haddock fish from General Santos fish market – can anyone help us ?
no cod or haddock in these waters
dp
I just want to know if some company in Phils exporting tuna to Japan is interested to send tuna to the auction market in Japan. A tuna supplier in another country ships about an average of 20 tons per month to the Auction Market.
Email me if you’re interested hotmail.com
There are already well established tuna brokers sending Yellowfin Tuna by air to Japan after every tuna auction.
Grading and buying fresh tuna at the docks in General Santos is an art that takes a long time to learn. Core samples are taken by established buyers of the tuna fish at the auction and an instant decision is made on how much to bid. The condition of the meat is affected by how much stress the fish was put through when being caught and by how well the fish was cooled after the catch on the way to the auction.
If you or your buyer is not highly experienced grading fish and has no personal relationship with the fishermen themselves it will be very difficult making a go of it in the Japan market.
The Tuna catch seems to be in decline the past few years.
best wishes
dp
For tuna auction market in Japan, pls email me in this new add: jacque.ikeda @ gmail (sorry for the inconvenience)