Fish facts for the Lenten fast

Eating of fish is popular this time of year because of the Lenten dietary fast that calls for the shunning of meat dishes. A recent report by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) has shown that going on a fish diet can be affordable—if you know what kind to buy and where to shop for it.   According to the NSCB report, fish prices vary across the nation and depend on the type of fish. Of the three locally available fish included in NSCB’s report, bangus or milkfish, the national fish, was the most expensive. Bangus   Based on 2011 statistics, bangus in Occidental Mindoro was the cheapest at P89.50 per kilo, while bangus in Camiguin is most expensive at P143.30 per kilo.   The report also included statistics from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS), showing fish consumption in different regions of the country.   The NSCB said that from 2008 to 2009, Bulacan and Pampanga were the heaviest consumers of bangus. Bulacan consumed 8.5 kgs of bangus per capita, while Pampanga consumed 8 kgs per capita.   The retail price of bangus in Bulacan in 2008 was pegged at P102 per kilo, while the retail price in Pampanga was P111 per kilo.   In 2008-2009, Sulu and Camiguin had the lowest consumption of bangus at only 0.05 kg per capita in both provinces.   The retail price of bangus in Camiguin at that time was the highest in the country at P149 per kilo, which could be the reason for the dip in consumption. There was no data available for the retail price in Sulu.   Galunggong   Galunggong, another popular fish staple, turned out to be cheaper than bangus in 2011, and cheapest in Sulu, where they cost only P42.30 per kilo. Galunggong was most costly in Cavite where they sold for P135 per kilo.   BAS data showed that in 2008-2009, the highest consumption of galunggong was in Biliran, where 18.3 kgs per capita were consumed. Sulu also had a high consumption rate of 13.4 kgs per capita.   Both Biliran and Sulu showed fairly low retail prices for galunggong in 2008—P70 and P31 per kilo respectively.   Batanes and Mountain Province had the lowest consumption of galunggong in 2008-2009. Batanes had a consumption of 0.73 kg  per capita, while Mountain Province’s consumption rate was at 0.47 kg per capita.   Galunggong was relatively expensive in the Mountain Province in 2008, with a retail price of P97 per kilo. There was no data available for the price of galunggong in Batanes.   Tilapia   The price of tilapia was not much different from the price of galunggong last year, coming in at P52.90 per kilo in South Cotabato where it is cheapest, and P126.10 per kilo in Antique where it is most expensive.   Tilapia was heavily consumed in Laguna in 2008-2009, where the consumption reached 11.1 kgs per capita. Pampanga also had high consumption of tilapia, with 11 kgs per capita. These two provinces had relatively low retail prices in 2008—tilapia in Laguna cost P84 per kilo, and P76 per kilo in Pampanga.   Zamboanga del Norte was among the provinces with low tilapia consumption of 0.10 kg per capita. The province with the lowest tilapia consumption was Southern Leyte, at only 0.05 kg per capita.   The retail price of tilapia in 2008 was also low in Zamboanga del Norte at P81 per kilo. No data was available for the price of tilapia in Southern Leyte. — ELR/YA, GMA News