The apex fisheries cooperative Matsyafed is keeping all its outlets open as part of a Statewide effort to ensure availability of food items during the lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
A senior official said here on Wednesday that the cooperative operated 41 outlets and five mobile shops and had a sales turnover of around ₹25 to ₹30 lakh a day on normal days prior to the disease outbreak. However, the sales turnover had fallen steeply to about ₹15 lakh a day.
He said the drop in sales was due to the sharp fall in the number of customers visiting the counters. Besides, fish availability was a big problem. Only small fishing boats were now venturing out and most of the catch was sold at the locales where the boats reached shore.
No auctioning
Though no auctioning was allowed to prevent crowding, fishers were paid a previously agreed rate for the Matsyafed purchases. There was also a lack of variety of fish.
While a Matsyafed stall during normal times put up 20 to 30 varieties of fish, it had come down to four to five now, the official said.
“The outlets are being kept open to ensure that whatever fish stock is available with the cooperative is accessible to the people amid the three-week shutdown.”
The cooperative was able to keep the prices in check too with seer fish being sold for ₹800 in the State capital on Tuesday, while the price of the delicacy is around ₹900 to 1,000 a kg at times. Yellowfin tuna was selling for ₹300 a kg while a trevally variety (neduva) was selling for ₹450 a kg. Pearlspot was selling for ₹550 a kg. In view of the COVID-19 outbreak, the cooperative had decided to drop, for the time being, its plans to launch an online sales platform . If the lockdown continued for a longer period, Matsyafed would look to go online, said the official. The cooperative had planned to launch a mobile app for taking online orders ahead of the Easter-Vishu festive season.
