DA eyes fish importation to address local supply shortfall, rising prices

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is considering importing roundscad (“galunggong”) again this year as supply of the “poor man’s fish” in the market falls short of the demand.

In a briefing on Thursday, Agriculture Secretary William Dar said the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources had recommended the importation of several pelagic fish, including galunggong and mackerel, to address the rising prices of fish in the market because of limi­ted supply.

Based on the agency’s price monitoring report, a kilo of galunggong was being sold for as high as P240 in the market against its usual price of P180 a kilo.

The markup has been so high that the National Federation of Small Fisherfolk Organization in the Philippines said the fish variant should not be called a “poor man’s fish” anymore.

Dar said they were expecting to reach a decision next week, although most likely, the agency would push through with the importation, “which should be not be as high as last year.”

To recall, the agency imported 45,000 metric tons of pelagic fish in 2019, which drew ire from concerned Filipinos given that the Philippines—an archipelagic country—should be able to secure its fish requirements easily.

According to the agriculture chief, the benefits of the development of the country’s aquaculture industry cannot be felt until the first quarter of next year. Hence, the need to outsource.

In another development, fisherfolk who harvest export-quality seafood such as tuna and crab are finding ways to offload their excess harvest as the international market tightens.

The DA said it was working on the repositioning of local food supply to ensure that these gaps in the supply chain would not result in a shortfall or volatility in prices.