Profiteers blamed for surge in fish prices

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has blamed profiteers and middlemen for the high prices of fish in the market.
BFAR National Director Eduardo Gongona said the country had a “steady” supply of fish.
“Our imported galunggong (round scad) has arrived in our fishing ports and bulk of these were already distributed to various markets.
So why are prices still high? It’s mainly because of the middlemen or the in-between,” Gongona said.
“Based on our monitoring data, prices of fish in Navotas port and nearby markets are stable.
But comparing them to prices in Metro Manila markets, we can really see a big difference and this is really because of profiteering of some traders,” he added.
The suggested retail price for galunggong, dubbed as the “poor man’s fish,” is P140 per kilo. However, the fish is being sold for P250 a kilo at the Farmers Market, and P200 a kilo at the Tandang Sora market.
Likewise, the prices of other fish remained high, with pompano (jacks) being sold for P500 per kilo, and tulingan (mackerel tuna) and salay-salay (yellowstripe trevally) for P280 per kilo.
Gongona said the BFAR was looking at formulating a measure that would lessen the involvement of middlemen.
“The wholesalers and retailers themselves have suggested to us to have the transfer of goods moved from the wholesalers directly to the retailers.
We welcome this idea because we also want to lessen the in-between to avoid spike of prices,” he said.
The BFAR, he said, would also focus on improving the country’s fish production.