KK crabs get pricier, up to RM60 per kg
KOTA KINABALU: The price of Grade A crabs has soared up to RM60 per kilogramme at the central market here due to a price revision by suppliers.
Grade B crabs are priced between RM30 and RM40 per kg, and Grade C crabs from RM20 to RM25 per kg.
According to the vendors, most of the crabs at the central market were transported daily from Sandakan through land transport.
“The price of crabs at the central market very much depends on the wholesale price of suppliers.
“Crab suppliers have been revising their prices constantly in recent years and we have to follow suit,” said a vendor.
On the sale of crabs, the vendor said he could sell around 100kg of crabs at times and experience slow business at other times.
He said retailers were not given the opportunity to pick and choose the crabs they wanted from suppliers as they buy crabs by the box.
“There are bound to be dead crabs when we unpack the boxes.
“The mortality rate for crabs is between 20 and 30 per cent.
“We have to bear the losses for dead crabs.”
Hence, he hoped that consumers would not complain about the prices of crabs given the risks vendors had to bear.
Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Junz Wong will be visiting the central market today (June 22) to inspect the prices of crabs and lobsters.
He has disclosed that his ministry may freeze the export of crabs in Tawau and Semporna and will be making a careful study of a mechanism for a win-win solution as part of preserving Sabah as a seafood paradise for the local people and tourists.
He said crab exports had become a major issue in Tawau due to large quantities being shipped daily to other countries.