A fisherfolk group has asked the government to implement price control to regulate the retail price of fish amid skyrocketing cost in the market.
In a statement released on Friday, Sept. 13, the fishers’ group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) said the unreasonable surge in the prices of major fish in the market is due to traders and middlemen who control pricing from the farmgate to retail.
Ronnel Arambulo, the vice chairperson of Pamalakaya, said such is a “failure of the government to directly purchase the fisherfolk's products at a reasonable price and sell them affordably in the markets.”
“Dapat magkaroon ng hakbang ang Department of Agriculture (DA) para ibalik ang makatwirang presyo ng isda at iba pang produktong agrikultural sa palengke (The Department of Agriculture [DA] should take action to restore the reasonable prices of fish and other agricultural products in the market),” he said.
The fishers’ group noted that the government can impose price control, as stated under the Republic Act 7581 which provisions Automatic Price Control “against illegal manipulation, including profiteering or the sale of offering of sale of any basic necessity or prime commodity at a price grossly in excess of its true worth.”
The Manila Bulletin has requested a comment from the DA regarding Pamalakaya's suggestion of "price control" on fish, but the agency has yet to respond.
Retail prices of fish, according to Pamalakaya, “never reflect” the farmgate prices, as fish traders procure them to small fishers at a very low price.
“For instance, the farmgate price of galunggong in Zambales province is around ₱100-₱120/kilogram, or more than 80 percent lower compared to its usual retail price at ₱220/kilogram,” the fishers’ group stated.
Pamalakaya’s market price monitoring this week recorded price hikes for galunggong at ₱260/kilogram (up from ₱180-₱220), tilapia at ₱150/kilogram (up from ₱100-₱120), and bangus at ₱240/kilogram (up from ₱200).