efty price for big prawns and white pomfret this coming Chinese New Year.Poor catch, due to adverse weather, and a surge in demand for the seafood have pushed up the prices between 20 and 40 per cent.
Although the festival is still a month away, the price of big prawns has gone up from between RMB 55 (USD 9.06, EUR 6.56) and RMB 60 (USD 9.89, EUR 7.15) per kg last month to RMB 80 (USD 13.18, EUR 9.53) per kg now. The price is expected to go up further as the celebration approaches.
Muar-Batu Pahat Fishermen Association chairman Ser Boon Huat said the price of white pomfret started at RMB 110 (USD 18.13, EUR 13.11) for a 1kg fish. For fish under 1kg, he said, the price was about RMB 90 (USD 14.83, EUR 10.73) each.
"So far, the price of white pomfret has gone up by about 20 per cent. It will continue to rise one week prior to the lunar new year," he said.
Ser blamed the plunge in catch to illegal trawling activities off the west coast of Johor.
He said the illegal trawlers had wiped out all the fishes, including fish fry, which explained why the fish population off the Muar and Batu Pahat coast had been depleting over the years. He said the price of tenggiri had gone up from about RM22 per kg to RM30 per kg.
"For smaller fish such as cencaru, the price is more stable. It is sold at about RM8 per kg, up from RM6 a month ago," he said.
"The fish supply in the wet markets is low these days. Even the supply from the east coast has gone down because fishermen do not go out to fish because of the choppy seas."
Ser advised consumers to get their seafood supply for the lunar new year soon as the trend in previous years suggests that prices will peak two weeks before the festival.
The association represents about 300 fishermen in Batu Pahat and Muar.
