Seafood prices go up by 15% at Kasimedu

Due to supply shortage, the prices of seafood increased by 15 per cent at Kasimedu fish market on Sunday. The traders said though the majority of fishermen went to sea they returned with only a limited amount of catch. However, they expect prices to double soon with Puratasi month ending next week.

“Compared to last week, the market received less than 1,000 customers due to shortage of supply, which led to a surge in price by 15 per cent. There was a demand for seafood for the past two weeks as only 35 per cent of fishermen went to the sea due to soaring diesel prices. Even though the majority of fishermen went fishing on Sunday, still they were able to catch less than 70 tonnes,” said Vishnu MP, a wholesale trader at Kasimedu fish market.

As the prices went up by 15 per cent, seer fish (vanjiram) was sold for Rs 700-800 per kg, red snapper (sankara) and crab for Rs 300 per kg, prawn Rs 300500 per kg, anchovy (nethili) Rs 200-250 per kg, ladyfish (kizhanga) Rs 400 per kg, and black pomfret and white pomfret Rs 600 to 900 per kg respectively. The prices, however, will go down by 10 per cent during the weekdays.

“Usually, during the Puratasi month, the sale and price will be high. But this year it was vice versa, and the main reason was due to supply shortage. Unlike last year there was climatic change quite often and also a surge in diesel prices, which made the fishermen stop going fishing. As the Puratasi month is ending next week, the prices would be double,” said Sivagami L, a trader at Kasimedu market.