Turkana
Tuesday May 7,2024
KNA by Ngasike Ezekiel and Peter Gitonga
Fish vendors in Lodwar town of Turkana County have raised concern over the shortage of fish occasioned by the current heavy rains and floods.The shortage has also led to high prices thereby reducing demand.
Dealers of fish said they source the products from Lake Turkana but supplies have since declined thus affecting prices.
Nancy Linda, a fishmonger at Lodwar Fish Market pointed out that there is less supply of fish since the rain started falling.
The increase in waters in Lake Turkana has led to the stoppage of fishing activities in some parts of the Lake thus creating a lower supply of fish products to the market.
According to Linda, the price of one kilogram of Nile Perch gradually hiked from sh200 in the month of February to sh250 in March and April. The price of Nile Perch now goes for about ksh300 per kilogram in this market.
“We are receiving fish from Lake Turkana on the sides of Kerio which normally records low supply of fish to our market as compared to Kalokol. Vendors here buy fish at higher prices and it becomes a problem to lure consumers to buy them at new prices. Sometimes fish goes to waste due to increased prices,” she criedA carton of other fish types that went for about sh50, now goes for sh70.
This shows a significant change of prices by sh20 which represents 28.5% of the increased price.
On the other side, Livestock traders from Lodwar Livestock Market Association have expressed their concern on the same.
The prices of Goats and Sheep in this market changed depending on their sizes and health.
Haron Naapu, Goat and Sheep trader, stated that a goat weighing 18-20 kilograms now goes for about ksh10,000 to ksh12,000.
Previously, this would go for sh8500 to sh10,000.A goat weighing 12-14 kilograms previously went for sh7000 to sh85000 and it now goes for about sh9,000 to sh10,000.
Lastly, a goat weighing 8-10 kilograms that went for sh4,500 to sh6,000 now goes for about sh6,500 to sh8,000.
This sentiment was echoed by Charles Emulango a cow seller in this market.
He noted that the increase in prices of cows is caused by rain and floods that have blocked animals from the market.
“Most of these animals come from the furthest points like Kaikor, Katilu and Todonyang. We are experiencing shortage of them due to flooding seasonal rivers in those places,” he said.
The prices in this market range from ksh25,000 to ksh50,000 depending on the size and health of an animal.
According to Emulango, a cow weighing 120-150 kilograms which went for about ksh40,000, now goes for ksh50,000.A cow weighing 80-90 kilograms goes for about sh45,000.
This previously went for sh35,000 to sh40,000.
Finally, a cow weighing 50-60 kilograms now goes for sh25,000.He also hinted for a possible increase in prices of cows at the end of this week
Courtesy; KNA