Galunggong price to decline by 30 percent

MANILA, Philippines — The retail price of galunggong or round scad is expected to drop by 30 percent in mid-February as it is currently sold for as high as P330 per kilo, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).

“With the start of the open season this February and March, we expect a big decrease, up to 30 percent decrease, in the retail price of galunggong and other pelagic fish,” Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel De Mesa said during the Bagong Pilipinas briefing yesterday.

The three-month closed fishing season in the Visayan Sea and Zamboanga Peninsula will end on Feb. 15, which means that commercial fishers can resume their operations.

Based on the DA’s monitoring of Metro Manila markets, round scad’s retail price ranged between P200 and P330 per kilo.

If its retail price dropped by 30 percent, the prevailing price would go down to between P160 and P231 per kilo.

Imported round scad is sold for as high as P260 per kilo while Indian mackerel is P380 per kilo.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said the closed fishing season was necessary as the spawning period of mature sardines peaks from October until January.

The three-month fishing ban will allow the fish stock to repopulate, BFAR spokesman Nazario Briguera said.

The DA allowed the importation of at least 35,000 metric tons of fish to prevent a supply shortage during the closed fishing season.

The volume of fish imports this year was 29 percent higher than the 25,000 MT allowed by the DA in 2022 amid the expected drop in fisheries production in 2023.