MANILA – Average July-September farm gate price of seaweed rose this year to its highest level since 2015, fueled by traders’ higher buying price.
The price per kilogram of seaweed reached PHP5.83 in 2017, surpassing last year’s PHP4.32 and 2015’s PHP5.07, latest data from Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed. “Higher buying prices of traders contributed to the gain in price of seaweed by 35.06 percent,” noted PSA.
The price gain was also the Philippine fisheries sub-sector’s highest during the July-September period this year and in 2016, PSA data show.
The data show 2017 price gain across the sub-sector was lower for milkfish (4.21 percent), tilapia (10.47 percent), tiger prawn (3.97 percent), roundscad (7.41 percent), skipjack (-2.00 percent), yellow fin tuna (0.06 percent), and other fishery species (11.02 percent). 2016 price gain was also lower for milkfish (-5.18 percent), tilapia (1.78 percent), tiger prawn (1.36 percent), roundscad (-8.32 percent), skipjack (-4.64 percent), yellow fin tuna (1.70 percent), and other fishery species (0.50 percent), the data show further.
Last year’s seaweed price dipped 14.79 percent from its 2015 level, PSA said. The PSA said the country’s July-September 2017 seaweed production hit some 278,000 metric tons, exceeding the 277,000 metric tons produced last year.
“Seaweed production inched up by 0.37 percent with expansion in area planted to cottonii variety in Tawi-tawi due to favorable weather conditions,” said PSA.
More dispersal of alvarezii planting materials from Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and cuttings from seaweed farms in Bicol Region as well as absence of ice-ice disease in Eastern Visayas resulted in more harvest of seaweeds, PSA noted.
Philippine fisheries sub-sector’s average July-September farm gate price rebounded from its 1.48 percent drop in 2016 and registered this year a 7.64 percent hike, PSA added. (PNA)
