MARGAO
Fish “ the staple food of Goemkars “ is expected to become scarce in the local retail markets from Thursday as all trucks transporting fish from across the borders will be barred from entering the Margao wholesale fish market, which is the lone supplier to retail markets across the State during the monsoon.
Wednesday saw a fleet of outstation trucks unloading tonnes of fish brought from outside the state, though demand has hit an all-time low in the wholesale fish market. Demand for fish has fallen drastically since the formalin scare hit Goa and people started abstaining from consuming fish as a precautionary measure.
After the government announced a ban on the import of all fish from Thursday, wholesalers and retail fish vendors said fish will become scarce from Thursday. They said fresh river fish will be unable to meet the huge gap between demand and supply.
In fact, fish vendors at the SGPDA retail market and other markets resigned themselves to their fate after the news of the government ban spread across the state on Wednesday. The retail fish vendors, however, pointed out they will sell only local fish netted at the sluice gates and the ones netted by traditional fishermen in the shallow waters of the Arabian sea.
Says president of SGPDA fish vendors Association Felix Dias: “If the government has banned import of fish from Thursday because of formalin, the retail vendors have no problem. As it is, the demand for fish had come down drastically after the formalin scare. The vendors will try to scout for fresh river fish and fish netted at the sluice gates and make available the same to the customers.”
President of Wholesale Fish Association, M Ibrahim, said the wholesalers welcome the decision of the government. “After the formalin scare had hit the markets, the demand for fish had hit rock bottom.If the government has banned import of outside fish in the interest of the State, we have no problem,” Ibrahim said.
Retail markets across the state will now have to bear the brunt of the government’s ban. The retail vendors used to purchase the fish from the wholesale fish market, especially during the monsoon.
