Counties

China tilapia sells like hot cakes in Mombasa

fish

A fish monger sells tilapia at an open air market in Nairobi. PHOTO | FILE | REUTERS

Tilapia imported from China is flooding markets in Mombasa County because it is cheaper, selling at a third the price of the local variety from Kisumu.

Fishmongers says customers also prefer Una tilapia because its taste.

Gordon Ngoge, a fishmonger, said many customers buy Una because of its lower price of between Sh160 and Sh300 per kilo depending on the size compared to Sh500 per kilo for the Kisumu type. Other fish like ‘mbuta’ (Nile perch) go for Sh320 per kilo, prawns at Sh800 per kilogramme and octopus at Sh250 per piece.

“Our customers love Una Tilapia because it is cheaper and also very sweet. The Tilapia from Kisumu is very expensive,” he said. Sammy Mwaluma of Mwatate fish shop at Majengo said business is heading south due to political tension.

READ: Alarm over cheap Tilapia imports from China

“I pray the political heat cool down. Economy has gone down and it is becoming difficult to sell our goods. There is no money and number of customers is reducing,” he said.  Customers have reduced the amount of stock they take, he said, adding this means they take longer to clear stocks.

The market has been lukewarm since the August 8 vote.

“Before elections the business was flourishing.  I could clear my stock within two days, but now it lasts even for four days. For example, a customer who used to take 15 kilogrammes of fish now takes 10,” he added. Fish traders get stocks locally from Kisumu, Lamu and Malindi.