The government might provide fishermen with fuel vouchers to reduce their operating cost, after manufacturers of canned sardines reported that prices of fish remain high.
Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said his agency requested canned goods producers to roll back their prices with the holiday season over. However, canned sardines makers said they are prevented to do so by the high acquisition cost of herring fish, locally known as tamban.
Tamban is the main input in canned sardines, and accounts for 47 percent of total production cost.
“We confirmed the fish input of canned sardines is still at P32 per kilo to P34 per kilo. It came from P19 per kilo, then P24 per kilo, [before hitting its current range],” Lopez said.
According to Lopez, one of the interventions the government can make is to provide fishermen with fuel subsidy in the form of vouchers to lower their operating cost.
“We will draw up a project with the BFAR [Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources] to be able to manage that. One of the considerations is fuel support [through] voucher system for fishermen to reduce their fishing cost even just a little,” Lopez revealed.
This is particularly crucial with prices of petroleum products higher this year, as the government implemented the second tranche of petrol tax under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law.
Canned sardines are registered as a basic necessity under the suggested retail price list. In the SRP released by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in December of last year, there were price hikes in 10 of the 22 brands subject to government monitoring.
The BusinessMirror computed an average increase of P0.86 among the 10 brands of canned sardines that raised prices in time for the holiday season.
The highest price hike was posted by Ligo at P1.30, followed by Hakata and Mega at P0.85 per 155 grams. Those that had an increase of P0.75 are 155 grams of Lucky 7, 555, Atami Green, Family Bonus Pack Plain, Family Regular Pack Plain, Master Green and Mikado.
As for other canned goods, only Purefoods Star (155 grams), a corned beef brand, had a price increase at P1.
The DTI will closely monitor prices of basic goods with the second tranche of fuel tax in place, Lopez vowed. He assured buyers, too, that prices are stable in most of the products under the SRP list, including powdered milk, instant noodles and bread.