STAKEHOLDERS in Dagupan bangus industry are divided on how the city government should protect the Dagupan bangus brand, which was long recognized as the tastiest milkfish in the country, commanding higher prices.

In an interview with IFM Radio Dagupan on June 19, Mayor Belen Fernandez said local bangus producers want the city government to set separate schedule in selling Dagupan bangus and bangus from western Pangasinan at the city’s Magsaysay Fish Market.

Citing the fair trade act, the mayor said the city government cannot prevent bangus producers from other areas in Pangasinan to sell at the Magsaysay Fish Market in response to demand of some local bangus producers that Dagupan bangus be sold in the wholesale market for five days a week while only two days for ‘alien’ bangus from other towns.

Still, another group of stakeholders called for the labeling of bangus based on their origin, i.e., Anda bangus, Bolinao bangus, setting them apart from Dagupan bangus.

On the last recommendation, Fernandez said it’s easy for unscrupulous vendors to mislabel alien bangus as Dagupan bangus for instant profits.

Stakeholders cited malpractices of some vendors in the markets of Metro Manila who often mislabel bangus originating from Pampanga, Bulacan, Laguna and Batangas as certified Dagupan bangus to justify higher prices.

Fernandez said both Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) are collaborating with her again over the branding of the Dagupan bangus, an initiative she pursued in her previous term as mayor.

Towards this end, she asked local bangus growers to have their products processed at the Dagupan City Fish Processing Center in Bonuan Binloc that Dagupan is seeking to co-manage with BFAR and help maintain high quality of processed Dagupan bangus and create demand for exported Dagupan bangus. (Leonardo Micua)

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