Consumers have to pay higher for their fish consumption."
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The hike in fish prices across various markets in several regions did not benefit the fishermen but only the traders, according to the Peoples Coalition for Fishery Justice (Kiara).

"Fishermen do not enjoy the benefits of the price hike, as there are no cold storage facilities in the coastal villages due to which they have to sell their catch immediately after fishing," Kiara Secretary General Abdul Halim informed ANTARA News here on Monday.

Therefore, the government, through the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP), is expected to fulfill its promise to build infrastructure such as cold storages for the fishermen, he affirmed.

Halim explained that the prices at the fishermans level such in West Javas Bogor and the other regions in Indonesia were likely to be stable but increased once they reached the traders level in the market.

"Consumers have to pay higher for their fish consumption," the Kiara secretary general noted.

Director General of Processing and Marketing of Fishery Products of the KKP Saut Hutagalung earlier stated that fish prices were likely to increase by about 10 to 20 percent in the face of the current fasting month.

He pointed out that the prices have been increasing due to psychological reasons following the hike in the prices of other commodities in the face of the fasting month of Ramadan and the post-Ramadan Eid al-Fitr festivities.

Price hikes were also fueled by the high demand for fish in the market while the stocks of sea fish were also running low.

The director general has forecast that the price hike trend would significantly occur four days before the Eid al-Fitr holiday (D-4) and seven days after the D-Day (D+7).

"The increase in the price in the run-up to the Lebaran festivities is caused by the small number of fishermen going to fish at sea," he explained.

He remarked that price hike will occur in fish varieties including shrimp, carp, catfish, and tilapia in Yogyakarta; carp and tilapia in Bandung; milkfish in Central Java, South Sulawesi, Jakarta, and Banten; and grouper in Manado.
(Uu.A014/INE/KR-BSR/F001)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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