Scenario at fish market not promising

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Absence of local fishermen exacerbates crisis

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 4: The scenario at the Sharq Fish Market does not look promising, because the crisis has been exacerbated by the absence of local fishermen who could not return to Kuwait following restrictions for return imposed by the government of Kuwait as the country fights to come to terms with the spread of virus, reports Al-Seyassah daily.

The daily added, a basket of local shrimps was sold for 90 dinars which forced shrimp lovers to opt for the Iranian shrimp because of its low price.

The daily toured the Sharq Fish Market and some of the shrimp sellers confirmed that the sale was weak despite the limited supply, and its reasonable prices compared to the fact that the season has just begun. Some said, Kuwaitis and Muslim expatriates during the Eid al-Adha prefer eating the sacrificial meat, not fish, and said one kilo of local ‘jumbo’ shrimp cost 6 dinars, while the average is around 5.5 dinars, and the small variety was sold for three or four dinars a kilo.

However, the price of a kilo of local shrimp is higher than that of the Iranian shrimp while the price of Saudi shrimp is only two dinars a kilo. The head of the Kuwaiti Fishermen’s Union, Zahir Al-Suwayyan said the supply shrimp whether local, Iranian or Saudi does not cover the needs of the market since only about 35 shrimp baskets were available yesterday.

However, he said, the Fishermen’s Union works to stabilize prices in the market and provide shrimp and local fish in big quantities to meet the increasing demand at affordable prices for all.

He explained the union refuses to sell fish outside the market and called on the concerned authorities to fight the black market, hoping there will be more cooperation from the concerned authorities in the fish sector with the union in order to protect the Kuwaiti marine product and maintain the price stability to serve the consumer.

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