DAMMAM, 4 November 2003 — Sales of fish in the Eastern Province have nose-dived and traders say they stand to lose thousands of riyals if the trend persists.
Traditionally fish sales marginally decline during Ramadan and as a result there are some minor adjustments in pricing. But this Ramadan the trend is alarming. Fish markets in Sihat and Qatif have reported that tons of fish perished due to the drop in sales.
Although there are no exact figures available, sources in the fish trade say that annual turnover in the domestic market is close to SR1.3 billion.
Sales are normally down during the summer period and start picking up from October, with a small dip during Ramadan. Anticipating a similar turnover as last year, some fish traders had already ordered import of fish from Pakistan and other neighboring countries. But in October, the expected upswing did not happen. “Tons of imported fish have perished causing huge losses,” said Ali Al-Jafar, a fish trader in Sihat.
Traders have now reduced prices in the hope that this will boost sales, though retail prices continue to be the same as last year ranging from SR12 to SR20 per kg depending upon the quality of the fish.
Alkhobar fish market, which otherwise buzzes with activity during this time of the year, is also passing through a lean period, and some of the retailers have started reducing prices of several kinds of fish. For example, tilapia, a river fish, which was selling at SR15 per kg live is now being sold as SR13 and traders say that prices may drop further.
But Syed Raghib Hussain, a Pakistani fish exporter, believes that the fish market is very much alive provided the pricing structure is right and a correct marketing strategy is adopted.
