Boycott galunggong from China – group

MANILA, Philippines — The militant fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) yesterday urged local vendors and consumers to boycott galunggong (round scad) imported from China and patronize “locally sourced aquatic and marine products of small fishers.”

Ruel Araneta, member of Pamalakaya-Palawan, said fisherfolk in the province expressed fears that importation could lower the farmgate price of the fish, set at P45 to P60 per kilo.

Galunggong retails for P130 per kilo in Palawan, which supplies 90 percent of galunggong sold at the Navotas fish port, Pamalakaya said. The group noted that galunggong prices in Metro Manila have reached P300 per kilo.

Araneta added that commercial fishing vessels continue to trawl for galunggong in Palawan’s waters despite the three-month fishing ban in the area.