Price of galunggong remains high despite importation — group

The government’s move to import 60,000 metric tons of fish to augment supply due to the closed fishing season did not bring down the price of galunggong, food security advocacy group Tugon Kabuhayan said Tuesday.

Citing the latest market monitoring of the Department of Agriculture, Tugon Kabuhayan said the price of galunggong has been stuck at the P200 per kilogram level.

Some markets are even selling at a high of P240 a kilo, it said.

“Unnecessary importation is affecting the local fishing sector and prices are not going down right now,” said Former Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) director and Tugon Kabuhayan convenor Asis Perez.

Perez said the DA’s decision to import 60,000 metric tons of fish such as galunggong is already being felt by the local aquaculture sector.

GMA News Online has reached to the DA for its comment on the matter, but no response yet has been received as of posting time.

In August, Agriculture Secretary William Dar approved the issuance of a Certificate of Necessity to Import (CNI) of 60,000 metric tons of fish, including round scad or galunggong, mackerel, and bonito that will be sold in public wet markets for the benefit of consumers, particularly in Metro Manila and fish-deficient areas in the country. 

The move is part of efforts to augment current local fish production, maintain sufficient supply, and make it affordable to consumers, particularly in the last quarter of the year and in conjunction with the closed fishing season.

However, the supply gap for the three-month closed fishing season in various fishing grounds in the country is only at 30,000 metric tons, which means that this should only be the volume to be imported according to the National Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council and Navotas Fishing Operators, according to Perez.

Over the past months, the price of fish was one of the factors that drove up the country’s inflation, he said.

“This was also due to expensive crude oil prices that impacted transport costs, as well as inclement weather that has forced up prices for fish. The tight supply of fish right now is also due to the ongoing closed fishing season in some spawning grounds including Palawan, Visayan Sea and Zamboanga by next month,” he added.

Perez said that adding to the supply problem are the reports of restrictions brought upon the local fishermen who fish in the contested waters of the West Philippine Sea. — RSJ, GMA News