For the first time in the history of the Sharq Fish market, a large group of stall owners announced a strike, exited from the market abandoning their fish in protest against the office owners for selling Al-Zubaidi, a local and imported fish outside the market at high prices, reports Al Rai. Also, the stall owner is forbidden from checking the stock of fish before buying.
The stall owners accused the office owners of manipulation for allegedly selling them stock at different fish sizes from the ones they purchased, and at high prices equal to or exceeding the selling price to the consumer, according to the decisions of the Ministry of Commerce. They complained that this hampers their livelihoods, and hinders them making reasonable profits from this profession.
In response, some office owners replied that any buyer could search the stock and examine it, and return the fish in case it fails to meet their standards. The angry sellers ’response to these words was detailed, and that all the fish inside the stock was a stroke of luck, where small sizes are mixed with large to achieve profits Huge expense on their account.
They stated that the local and even the imported al-Zubaidi are not sent to the market, except in very small quantities, as they are sold outside the market at high prices, and only the small ones arrive. They mentioned that the quantities received daily range between 1.5 and 2 tons, and the shrimp appear only rarely, and if found, it is in small sizes, from which the basket is sold for between KD150 and KD160 dinars, while the jumbo size is sold outside the market.
It was pointed out that the alleged cheating lies in mixing sizes and prices, whereby the fish sold at KD3 dinars per kilogram is mixed with fish with a price tag of KD5 dinars per kilo, which is done to defraud buyers. This is an oversight from all the concerned authorities whether from the municipality or the General Authority for fisheries or the Ministry of Commerce, which does not allow any laxity in prices or sizes.
The stall owners stated that the complaint is not specific to one office, but rather from the general office, where it appears that there is an agreement between all of them to take such actions. In the event that a complaint is submitted to the Ministry of Commerce, the gates of hell may be opened, and they might refuse to sell to the stall owners the next day, on the pretext that they have problems, and the offices also fail to comply with the trade price regulations.
The angry stall owners also accused the offices of earning thousands of dinars from alleged “tampering”, and that they were the cause of the fish crisis in Kuwait. They demanded the withdrawal of their licenses, and the creation of a special office for trade to carry out fish sales. One that will listen to them and understand their complaints in order to protect the public interest.
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