Fishermen on losing side despite recent price hike of goods, laments association
BINTULU: Fishermen are still on the losing side despite the recent price hike of wet goods, especially fish in the market, lamented Sarawak Fishing Vessel Association secretary Harry Tan.
He said the price hike of goods in the market was inevitable due to the increase in price of other raw materials.
“Trawls and other tools all went up in price – for example, (the price) of iron tools went up by 40 per cent while trawls and rope increased by up to 30 per cent due to the sharp increase in transportation costs,” he said commenting on how pricey wet goods in the market are currently.
Tan said however, fishermen could only watch from afar the pricey fish being sold in the market as they are not part of the groups that can benefit from the price hike.
He said that fishermen cannot control the price of fish being sold in the market as it is not their call to set the price.
“As fishermen, even though operational costs have increased, the wholesale price has not changed.
“But when the fish land on the market, suddenly the price skyrockets – I also don’t know how,” he said.
Tan said he had highlighted the high operational cost with the wholesaler hoping to get a reasonable buying price but the wholesale only increased it between 50 cents and RM1.
Citing prawns as an example, he said the wholesaler only bought it at RM40 per kg from fishermen but they later sold in the market for as high as RM80 per kg.
“To be frank, I can say that fish sellers have generated a handsome profit from this. They just prepare money, buy it from wholesalers, and it’s a guarantee.
“But not for us fishermen
– we come up with capital, pay salaries, go out to sea and there is no guarantee that we can recover the costs,” he said.
He said that it was an easy job for wholesalers and fish sellers, who just buy the goods at the wharf and they can still gain profit with the high price set for customers.
According to Tan, it would be normal if the wholesaler increased the price up to RM5 for their profit but those selling in the market should not hike the price up too high for customers.
“We don’t know their calculations but for RM45 per kg of prawns sold to the wholesaler, who then sells it for RM50 per kg to the fish seller and ends up at RM80 per kg in the market – that is just too high,” he said.
He lamented that in the end, the fish sellers will point the blame to fishermen by saying it is very difficult to get fish, hence the expensive price.
Meanwhile, a customer from Tatau, Rohana Abdullah Josephine Egah, said the price increase of goods was a burden especially for B40 families.
“Even for a small-scale trader, we have been badly affected financially. In addition, the economy has not fully recovered yet,” she said.
She noticed the price hike involved some goods such as chicken breast being RM9 compared to RM7 previously; jelawat fish at RM18 per kg compared to RM15 previously; chicken feet at RM7 instead of RM5; and chicken wings at RM13 per kg compared to RM11.50 per kg.
“I hope the relevant authorities will monitor the price of goods in the market and reduce the price immediately,” said the 50-year-old food caterer from Pasar Baru Tatau.
A housewife, Noriha Ali, 58, also called on the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) to monitor the price hike as almost all food items were pricier now.
“Sometimes the prices are not fixed. Today and tomorrow will have different prices. Maybe some traders, not all, are just simply increasing the prices,” she said.
She said that consumers now have to be wise and only buy the daily necessities and sometimes buy goods even though the price is expensive as they have no choice.
As for 64-year-old retired headmaster Ali Sabri Saber Ali Khan, he said he personally sees the price hikes as a direct implication of less supply and higher demand.
“In the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, most of the operators were unable to carry out their efforts as usual.
“Micro or small traders may get supplies from their suppliers at high prices, especially those who do not produce on their own. Therefore, in order to get a small profit margin, whether they like it or not, they also have to raise the price a li le,” he opined.
He said that they also needed to survive and customers should accept this situation with an open mind.
“In a sense, if we feel that it is too expensive, don’t buy. Buy other items, as long as we can continue to eat. The choice is in our hands as buyers (whether to buy or not),” he added.
However, he advised traders not to take advantage and hike up the price, especially if they produce the raw materials themselves and are not affected by the price from suppliers.
Ali Sabri added that the government may not be able to constantly subsidise every necessity.
“Traders also need to work with the government and strive to control the price of essential so as to not overburden the people,” he said.
For Maraini Jaafar, she noted that price hike for vegetables was not just 30 per cent but up to 100 per cent.
“For example, sawi used to be RM3.99 up to RM6.50 but now it is RM9.99, and red onions went up from RM18 to RM20 per kg,” the childcare services operator said.
She said that if this situation continues, people will be more depressed.
Maraini, 53, said that even though there was financial aid, it did not help as it could not cover the increase of daily expenses.
As for an alternative under the Keluarga Malaysia concept, she said the government can promote mini gardens in residential areas including business premises, for example at childcare centres and kindergartens.
She also hoped the Agriculture Department would continue their efforts in promoting urban agriculture projects for each household.
“Gardening is a healthy activity. Apart from recreation, it can also foster closer ties among family members,” she said, adding that hydroponics can be used by households who may not have land for gardening.