Rice, fish prices up, meat down in mid-March

THE retail prices of rice and fish increased year on year at mid-March, while meat prices declined, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

During the March 15-17 period, which the PSA calls the second phase of March, the national average retail price of regular-milled rice increased 5.8% year on year to P48.69 per kilo.

The second-phase price is also higher than the P47.47-per-kilo average in the first phase of the month (March 1-5) and P46.01 a month earlier.

The highest average retail price of regular-milled rice in the second phase was recorded in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao at P53.26 per kilo, while the lowest retail price was reported in the Cagayan Valley at P41.37.

The retail price of galunggong (round scad) rose 4.56% to P248.64 per kilo in the second phase of March. The national average is also higher than the  P242.67 recorded in the first phase of March and P246.38 a month earlier.

Chicken retail prices rose to P212 per kilo in the second phase of March from P211.67 a year earlier. The average retail price is higher than the P211.41 recorded in the first phase of March, but lower than P212.85 a month earlier.

Meanwhile, the retail price of fresh pork shoulder averaged P341.48 per kilo in the second phase of March, down 6.46% from a year earlier. The national average is slightly higher than P340.80 recorded in the first phase of March but lower than P342.37 a month earlier. — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel