Galunggong prices seen to drop 30% as open fishing season starts

Prices of galunggong (round scad) and other pelagic fish are expected to drop by as much as 30% in the coming months following the start of the open fishing season in Palawan which serves as a major source for Luzon.

Latest data available from the Department of Agriculture (DA) show that retail prices of local galunggong in Metro Manila ranged from P200 to P330 per kilogram on February 2, up from P200 to P280 per kilogram on Oct. 31, 2023, a day before the closed fishing season started.

Prices of imported galunggong, meanwhile, range from P180 to P260 per kilogram.

“Dahil nagsisimula na muli ‘yung ating open season ngayong February, March, inaasahan natin na malaki ‘yung ibababa, siguro hanggang 30% na presyo ng galunggong at iba pang pelagic fish,” DA spokesperson Arnel de Mesa said on Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon.

(Because the open season started this February, March, we expect a big drop, maybe up to 30%, in the prices of galunggong and other pelagic fish.)

The three-month-long closed fishing season for galunggong in Palawan started on Nov. 1, 2023, and lasted until Jan. 31, 2024. The fishing of sardines, herring, and mackerel was also prohibited in the Visayan sea from Nov. 15, and would last until February 15.

De Mesa, in the same televised briefing, said the government continues to provide assistance to farmers amid the ongoing El Niño, with the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. allocating P1.8 billion and the DA earmarking P500 million for assistance.

“‘Yung report ng PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration), magpi-peak ito ng February hanggang March at pagdating ng April nga ay unti-unti nang bababa ‘yung epekto,” he said.

(The report of PAGASA says that it will peak in February until March, and the effects will slowly wane in April.)

The DA earlier reported that the El NIño has caused P109.4-million worth of damage to crops, based on assessments from regional field offices in Western Visayas and the Zamboanga Peninsula.

Government data showed that the value of production in agriculture and fisheries grew by 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2023, bringing the full-year production up 0.7%. —KBK, GMA Integrated News