DA urged to implement price control on fish

MANILA, Philippines — A fishers’ group has asked the Department of Agriculture (DA) to implement a price control amid the spike in the retail cost of fish in various markets.

Based on the latest price monitoring of Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya), fish products have increased significantly following successive typhoons.

Round scad or galunggong ranged between P220 and P240 per kilo; tilapia, between P160 and P180 per kilo and milkfish or bangus, P180 per kilo, Pamalakaya vice chairperson Ronnel Arambulo noted.

“The spike was not due to typhoons and the fisherfolk, but the traders who took advantage of the calamity to manipulate the retail prices of fish,” Arambulo said.

The farmgate price of fish remains low despite the retail cost increase in markets, he added.

Tilapia’s farmgate price only ranged between P50 and P60, but the retail price has tripled, he noted.

“The DA should be obligated to implement concrete action to ensure that traders do not take advantage of the situation through the imposition of price control,” he said.

Under Republic Act 7581 or the Price Act, Arambulo said the government can implement automatic price control to address the illegal manipulation of prices and profiteering.

The government should buy fishermen’s produce, he said.

Based on DA’s monitoring of Metro Manila markets, the retail price of round scad ranged between P200 and P360 per kilo; tilapia, between P110 and P180 per kilo and milkfish, between P150 and P220 per kilo.