Fisherfolk seen to benefit from SRP for farm products

SUGGESTED retail prices (SRP) for certain types of fishes in the market as ordered to be implemented by Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol will be beneficial both to the fisherfolks and the conumers in Davao Region, said Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Davao Region official.

In previous reports, Piñol said he is eyeing to implement SRP for agricultural products such as well-milled and regular-milled rice, eggplant, and pechay. As for the fishes, the project will initially have galunggong, tilapia, and bangus to follow the SRP.

“It’s good just like other commodities with SRPs, the prices have standards and do not always fluctuate. There had been monitoring of fish prices before that have observed that particular types of fishes are more expensive than the others. What Secretary Piñol wants is to have the prices maintained and will not be affected much of constant fluctuations,” Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Davao regional director Fatma Idris told Sunstar Davao.

She added that just like in the price increases of gasoline, there may be increases but it is uniform nationwide and controlled because of the SRPs.

Idris said there has yet to be implementation guidelines as well as overall direction sent to them by the Central Office and they are waiting for these before any significant adjustments with the prices of the said fishes.

“This is okay because we have many fish harvests now. As we have more supply and the prices remain to be on standard, then it is really beneficial to our farmers,” she said adding that even with the closed season, they do not fear decrease of the amount of harvests especially of small fisherfolks aboard bangkas.

Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the Brackishwater fishpond milkfish produced by Davao Region for the first quarter of 2018 had increased by 18.67 percent to 216.54 metric tons (MT) from only 182.48 MT during the first quarter of 2017. On the other hand, Marine cage milkfish also has an increased production of 7.64 percent to 2,739.11 MT from only 2,544.79 MT first quarter of last year.

Brackishwater fishpond tilapias produced in the region, on the other hand, had tremendously increased by 85.34 percent to 66.61 MT first quarter of 2018 from 35.94 MT first quarter of 2017. Tilapias grown in Freshwater ponds in the region had also increased by 24.45 percent to 170.94 MT from 137.36 MT first quarter of last year.

However, production of galunggong, slightly decreased by 7.24 percent to only 156.76 MT from 168.99 MT during the first quarter of 2017.

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