TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol (PIA) -- The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported a decrease in the price index of fish and other seafood at -5.6 percent in March from 1.4 percent last month. 

With the open fishing season now allowing fishers to harvest the replenished fish stocks in the regional fishing areas and with fish spilling over to Bohol seas, the presence of cheap mackerel, tuna, and herring or sardines in markets drove the prices down.  

With the fishing season now open after months of allowing the regional fishing grounds to recover and replenish, fish and other seafood prices in March sagged to -5.6 percent from 1.4 percent in February. 

Rice, although a few days past its harvest, recorded a 24.6 percent annual increase from 25.4 percent in February. 

According to the Department of Agriculture (DA), this could also mean that even if the price inflation behaved relatively well in March, it was still way below expectations, which could have pulled the price inflation way below. 

DA7 said the rice harvest would have fared better if not for the long dry spell, which has contributed largely to the inflation rate. 

The PSA data also showed an increase in corn prices from 6.9 percent in February to 8.1 percent in March, which could be attributed to El Niño. 

“March of 2023 was harder as the inflation rate at that time was 7.8 percent in Bohol,” said PSA provincial statistician Jessamyn Anne Alcazaren. 

Inflation rate down 

The recent monthly inflation rate press conference of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that in Bohol, headline inflation for March 2024 decelerated to 3.2 percent from 4.0 percent last month. 

This translates to 0.5 percent lower than the national inflation rate and the regional inflation rate this month. 

“The inflation downtrend in Bohol is driven by lower inflation in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels as well as the slower annual increase in the price indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages,” explained Alcazaren. 

She said food inflation slowed down to 6.7 percent in March 2024 from 7.0 percent in February. 

Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels registered a -2.3 percent inflation rate in March from 0.2 percent in February, while inflation in food and non-alcoholic beverages ebbed from 6.7 percent in February to 6.4 percent in March. 

Prices in housing and basic utilities registered a -2.1 percent inflation movement in a month, and food and non-alcoholic beverages at 0.3 percent ebb, the latter constituting 76.11 percent, amplifying the consumer price index movement. (RAHC/PIA7 Bohol)