The Malaysian Insight

THE government’s Shared Prosperity Vision for 2030 must address the longstanding mismatch of the fisherman’s low earnings and the high prices of seafood.

Malaysians, who love their seafood, often complain about the volatile and unreasonable prices of fish at the market, comparing them to the lower prices they can get at the fisherman’s jetties and wharves.

Fishermen in Penang interviewed by The Malaysian Insight said they hoped the government would have policies to resolve this in the Shared Prosperity Vision to be announced on October 5 or in Budget 2020 to be tabled in Parliament on October 11.

Fishermen in Butterworth said they had little choice but to sell their catch cheap to middlemen.

“We have to sell to middlemen at very low prices because if we decline, we will be worse off,” said Mazlan Othman, a leader of the Teluk Air Tawar fishermen’s group.

He proposed the government set up an agency to take over the middleman’s role and regulate fish prices.

“That is better than having different middlemen each with their own power to set prices.”

Mazlan said Penang fishermen now had to venture as far as Langkawi and Perak to catch fish, and this has raised their operating costs.

This puts them in a bind because while they cannot sell high to the middleman nor can they sell too low as they need to cover costs and make some profit.

“We choose middlemen who offer the highest prices. But we also know that selling higher will upset the consumers. But if we sell low, we cannot earn back our capital,” said Batu Uban Fishermen’s Unit member Hanafi Ibrahim.

The Malaysian Insight visited the markets and fisherman’s landing points over the weekend and found there was indeed a sharp difference in prices.

AA-sized shrimp sold for RM55 per kg at the Penaga Fishermen’s pier in Kuala Batas, but cost  RM64 per kg at the Taman Run Sardon wet market in Gelugor.

“Ikan kembung” cost RM10-14 per kg at the jetties but fetched up to RM16 per kg at the wet markets, depending on the size of the fish.

Ikan dura, or marine catfish, meanwhile, sold for between RM4 and RM8 per kg at the jetty, but cost twice as much at the markets.

Not surprisingly, many shoppers prefer to go to the jetties rather than the markets.

A resident, Ikhwan Jaafar, 35, said people preferred to buy fish at the jetties because they were cheaper and fresher.

“I bought RM14 a kilo of ikan kembung at the jetty, while in the wet market it is more expensive by a ringgit or two. Although that is not too much, I prefer to buy at the jetty simply because it is fresher,” he said.

For Ong Guat Lay, 60, the lure is also not the lower prices.

“I’m not too bothered about the price difference, it’s not much for me. I just prefer fresh fish that has just been caught,” the retiree said.

The middleman was not to be solely blamed for the high prices at the markets, fishmonger Abdul Mutalib Abdul Wahab said.

There are other factors, such as the type of fish, whether it was in season, and the weather, that decided the price. The attitude of some traders was also a factor, said Mutalib, whose stall is at the Taman Tun Sardon wet market.

“You have middlemen who buy from fishermen at low prices, then the market seller takes advantage and jacks up the prices even more. For example, AA-grade crabs should be worth RM40 but they sell for RM45 or RM48 for various reasons.

“Then there are sellers who charge the price for regular-sized fish even though the fish are small, but consumers often don’t realise and they keep buying,” he said.

In August, the Malaysian Competition Commission (MyCC) revealed that consumers are paying high prices for ikan kembung because of middlemen, some of whom inflate prices by up to 300%.

The findings in a market review of the food sector showed the fisherman’s cost price of ikan kembung was RM6.50 per kg and the fish was sold at between RM7.50 and RM8.50 per kg at the jetty, and they changed hands again to wholesalers who buy it for RM12 and RM14 per kg.

By the time the fish reaches the shopper, it costs between RM15 and RM17 per kg, MyCC said.

The MyCC study was presented to the cabinet on August 14. Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Saifuddin Nasution said the cabinet took the findings seriously and promised to address the problems it raised. – October 1, 2019.