THE Magogoni International fish market in Dar es
Salaam which initially was designed to promote small scale local fish traders is
now dominated by cheap imported frozen fish popularly known as ‘Vibua Kamongo’
following low supply of the fish products currently facing the market, the Guardian can report. A spot check at the
market on Wednesday this week can reveal that, the market is now faced with lower
supply of fish products and instead it has been flooded with cheap imported
frozen fish. Traders at the market have attributed the trend which has led to
such a severe scarcity as mainly due to the sea weather change at this period
following the prevailing wind seasons of the year calendar that swipes through
during July and early September months respectively. Speaking in an exclusive
interview, fishers say whenever they set up their fish nets on the sea during
night hours are not settled properly and instead are waved away by water
current an aspect that they end up catching small quantities which cannot
accommodate the demand of consumers. Contacted for comments, the Fish Market
Manager Solomon Mushi who admitted the prevailing situation at his market noted
that, the situation is more aggravated by lack of storage facilities which have
never been installed at the market compound despite promise by the government
after the market was built in 2003 by help of Japanese government. He exclusively
narrated that, the market is running short of fresh fish due to shortage of their
supply as fishers sometimes are scared to catch more fish for fear of incurring
losses in case are left overnight due to lack of storage facilities, and
instead the imported frozen ones helps to subsidize the incurring shortages. Elaborating
on the cheap imported fish, he said that are being imported mostly by
Tanzanians of Arab and Asian origin and some few local traders from Japan, Yemen,
Hong Kong, China and India. These have been licensed by the government through
the ministry of Fisheries. Attributing to the rising trend, the Director in-charge
of Fisheries development in the Ministry of Livestock Development and Fisheries
Hosea Mbilinyi said that, the ministry issues import licenses to fish traders
owing to the shortages of fish products currently produced in the country. He said
on Thursday this week most Tanzanians love fresh fish caught from various
waters in the country, but since their quantities is less to meet the required
demand consumers have no choice except to rely on imported fish which to a
certain advantage are sold at cheapest price rates.
When asked why the
government issues imports licenses to fish traders he noted that, ‘there is no
way to avoid importations owing to the incurring shortages of the fish products
from waters in most parts of the country
which do not cater for the need of consumers in most parts of the country. He
noted that, with the latest statistics made available by the ministry shows
that, the annual production of fish in the country stands at 375.1 million
kilogrammes, out of which about 38.5 million kilogrammes were exported outside
the country. He said there is a steady rate of exportation of fish products
regardless of losses and destruction that occurs in the process. In view of
this an average consumption of individual in the country stands at 7.4
kilogrammes per person per year. This is a very small quantity compared to what
the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) suggests that the
per capital fish consumption for every individual is 18 kilogrammes of fish
product per year. “In order to bridge the existing gap, the government has allowed
importation of fish products in large quantities in order to cater for the need
that is arising now and then”, he said. Citing the fish production rate in the
country, he noted that ‘latest statistics by the ministry shows that a total of
6.6 million kilogrammes of fish were imported into the country. This is
equivalent to 1.9 per cent of the total fish being produced in national waters in
the country. He elaborated reasons that made Tanzania to join World Trade
Organization (WTO) and accepted the protocol
introduced by the organization and the free trade area of the SADC regional
states that one of the reasons is sensitize the existing trade ties between the
countries. He also noted that, Tanzania must accept the importation whatsoever
and has no way to avoid and in case it does. The countries signed in the WTO and
SADC regional states will also be in a position to prevent Tanzania fish
exports an aspect that is likely to ruin national economy. However, he has
assured Tanzanians that the imported frozen fish are safer and fit for human
consumption bearing the fact that, during the importation process, the bulk is
normally inspected by specialized national bodies such as the Tanzania Food and
Drug Authority (TFDA) at every entry points. Other bodies he mentioned are
Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) and the National Atomic Agency whose roles
together is to ensure the quality of fish that had been fished out in a safe
and in a scientific manner to avoid suspicion to consumers. Other government
bodies are TRA and security agencies.
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