The Department of Agriculture should implement price control on fish, according to fisherfolks group Pamalakaya (Photo by Willie Lomibao).

MANILA, Philippines — A fisherfolks group has urged the Department of Agriculture (DA) to implement price control on fish following the onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (International name: Trami) and Typhoon Leon (International name: Kong-rey).

Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) on Saturday said the price of galunggong (round scad) was between P220 and P240 per kilogram.

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It also recorded the price of tilapia (black carp) between P160 and P180 per kilo and bangus (milkfish) at P180 per kilo.

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Pamalakaya tallied this data from October 29 to 31 from local members at markets in Cavite, Rizal, and Quezon City.

The fisherfolk group added that prior to Kristine’s onslaught, galunggong cost P180 to P200, tilapia cost P120, and bangus cost P120 to P150 per kilo.

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“The typhoons and especially the fisherfolk are not to blame for the rising market price of fish but the private traders that take advantage of calamities to manipulate prices,” Pamalakaya Vice Chair Ronnel Arambulo said in Filipino.

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“The DA must be compelled to implement concrete steps to ensure traders are not taking advantage of fish prices in the market, whether it be through price control or directly buying the product of fishermen,” he added.

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Arambulo pointed to the Price Act or Republic Act 7581, which sanctions illegal acts of price manipulation including profiteering “the sale or offering for sale of any basic necessity or prime commodity at a price grossly in excess of its true worth.”

The DA reported on Thursday, Oct. 31, that fisheries suffered losses worth P11.2 million due to Kristine.

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Data from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council on Saturday tallied P4.44 billion in total production loss and cost of damage in value across the agricultural sector, including fisheries, due to Kristine and Leon.

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