The price of local fish commodities in Metro Manila is starting to stabilize with the increasing fish supply reaching the National Capital Region, the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) said. 

"With increasing supply, galunggong (round scad) currently sells for P180 per kilogram from P260-P280 per kilogram, making the price more affordable," the agency said in a statement. 

The prices of tilapia and bangus remain stable at P120/kg and P180/kg, respectively. 

This is based on the daily market price monitoring conducted by DA-BFAR in Metro Manila markets, the agency said. It can be attributed to the increase of fish supply unloaded at the Navotas Fish Port Complex, the largest fish port in Southeast Asia.

The lowering of price of local-fresh marine fish commodities in the National Capital Region, on the other hand, can be attributed to the lifting of the three-month closed fishing seasons in the country’s major fishing grounds.

“With the resumption of large supplies of fresh marine commodities in the market, our consumers now have more affordable fish to choose from and put on their tables. We had continuous aquaculture production in the past months and this helped us augment supply during our lean months,” said DA Undersecretary for Fisheries Cheryl Marie Natividad-Caballero.

The Philippine Fisheries Development Authority reported that a significant amount of fish supply of 9,506.81 metric tons (MT) has been unloaded from March 1 to 15. Of this, 5,743.44 MT are marine commodities; 1,480.88 MT are from aquaculture; and 2,282.49 MT are frozen fish products.

Galunggong comprised the largest percentage in the supply, followed by bangus, tilapia, tulingan, and tamban.

With the increasing supply this month, the Navotas Fish Port is looking forward to surpass its own record of 12,404.4 MT in January and 15,384.9 MT in February.