Prices of seafood products in Malaysia are likely to increase in the coming months due to a shortage of workers in the local fishing industry.
The lack of workers has forced fishing vessels at the country’s major ports – Selangor, Perak, and Pahang – to slash half of their capacity, Malaysia Fisheries Association’s President Chia Tian told the Malay Mail. At the Hutan Melintang fishing port in Perak, which accounts for one-third of Malaysia’s fish output, only 10 percent of the 600 boats had enough manpower to operate.
Besides losing domestic workers to COVID-19 and related issues, Malaysia has had a more-difficult time bringing in foreign workers. The cost for boat operators to take in a foreign worker has risen to MYR 10,000 (USD 2,357, EUR 2,084), and wages have increased as well. The average foreign worker in Malaysia’s fishing industry is paid MYR 1,800 (USD 426, EUR 377) per month, much higher than the MYR 1,300 (USD 307, EUR 272) per month in the past, Tian said, for an average of 22 days at sea per month. Tian said a further complication is the application process for fishing work permits for foreign workers, which is likely to become more difficult as the government introduces legislation to raise the minimum standards for foreign workers.
Partially due to the labor shortage, and partially due to global logistics and trade issues that have led to inflation, prices of food have risen significantly in Malaysia recent weeks. The cost of vegetables have reportedly shot up by between 40 and 200 percent, prompting consumer associations to urge local government to act to control prices.
The country may have to import fish to offset the lower supply from the local fishing industry, but local consumers will face limited choices, according to The Malaysian Insight.
“Even if we import the fish to meet the demands, we will not get the best ones, because the rich countries would have bought them all,” Tian said. “We will only be left with the B- or C-grade fish to choose from.”
Photo courtesy of IZWAN IS/Shutterstock
