A NUMBER of fish varieties available in a fish market in Quezon City — BW FILE PHOTO

THE GOVERNMENT is “very concerned” about the rising price of fish amid declining production over the past five years, raising the risk of reduced access to and higher prices for a type of food deemed to be a key source of low-cost nutrition for the population.
“We’re very concerned about the price of fish. It seems that our fish catch has really been dropping since 2012. Maybe it’s because of climate change, overfishing. We don’t really know, but we’re just signaling that this is becoming a serious problem,” Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said in a media forum yesterday.
In 2017, fisheries production fell 1% year-on-year, though the decline narrowed from 6.3% in 2016.
Inflation in fish prices was 12% in the first quarter, up from 5% a year earlier.
In June, fish prices rose 11.2%, and accounted for 0.6 percentage point of CPI growth which came in at 5.2% that month.
Economic managers are considering the import of fish more freely and at lower tariffs to contain food prices, which are becoming a contentious political issue for the government.
Also proposed for importation at a 5% tariff rate were meat, vegetables, feed wheat and corn.
The Philippine Tariff Commission conducted a public consultation on Aug. 10. Congress is scheduled to adjourn between Aug. 16 to Aug. 27, which would provide President Rodrigo R. Duterte an opportunity to lower tariffs via Executive Order.
Mr. Dominguez has said that lower tariffs are not expected to hurt government revenue significantly as tariffs and customs duties represent about 5% of Bureau of Customs collections.
He added that imports at higher volumes might offset lower tariffs.
In July, the DoF issued an economic bulletin calling for more sustainable fisheries management practices and more intensive application of technology in the fisheries sector to ensure adequate supply. It also noted that fish products have played a significant role in the elevated inflation levels of the past few months. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

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