Importation is not the solution to stabilize the price of fish in the market, an official of the fisher’s group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) reiterated on Sunday, Feb. 13.
“Hindi totoo na ang importation ang solusyon para ma-stabilize natin ‘yung presyo sa merkado. Ang totoo, kaya hindi mai-stabilize ‘yan dahil merong monopolyo sa industriya ng pangisdaan natin (It is not true that importation is the solution for us to stabilize the price of fish in the market. In fact, the reason why we cannot stabilize this is because of the monopoly in our fishing industry),” said Pamalakaya chairperson Fernando Hicap in an interview over DZBB.
According to Hicap, among the primary beneficiaries of importation were the exporters which include commercial fishing vessels who set the price cap of fish in the market.
“Pangunahin d’yan yung mga commercial fishing vessel kasi sila naman ‘yung merong malalaking huli kaya sila ‘yung nagtatakda maging dito sa merkado (Commercial fishing vessels are one of the main beneficiaries because they are the ones with big catches so they also set the price of fish in the market),” said Hicap.
He likewise reiterated that fish importation harms the local fisherfolk.
“Ang isang problema d’yan ay sinasamantala pa ang importation para sa pagpapababa ng bili ng mga local traders sa huli ng mga maliliit na mangingisda. Hindi katanggap-tanggap na importation ang laging solusyon (One of the problems is that importations are being exploited to sometimes lower the price of fish sold by small-scale fishermen. It is unacceptable that importation is always the solution),” Hicap added.
Meanwhile, in order to stabilize the price of fish in the market, Hicap said that the national government should set a price control and ensure that the country’s fisheries are able to produce fish.
“Tiyak na baba ang presyo ng isda sa merkado kapag napalakas ang lokal na produksyon (The price of fish in the market will definitely go down when local production is boosted),” Hicap reiterated.