If you are shopping for seafood and find that certain items such as big prawns and pomfret are in short supply, it is because suppliers and retailers have started hoarding them. With the Chinese New Year two months away, business operators in Malaysia and Singapore have begun to stock up on these items.
Being festive favourites among the Chinese, such items fetch a premium during the Chinese New Year holidays which fall on Feb 8 and 9 next year. What makes it to the Chinese New Year dining table has great cultural significance as every dish is steeped in tradition.
The Chinese fascination for homonym or words pronounced the same as another, regardless of meaning or spelling, means that several dishes are a must-have during the Spring Festival. Among them are rice cake or nian gao, long noodles or mian tiao that embody the concept of longevity, and the Chinese New Year fish dish is nian nian you yu which means “may the year bring prosperity”.
The ingredients to whip up these Chinese favourites often go into short supply in the weeks running up to the festival. The favourites among Malaysians and Singaporeans are big prawns and pomfret, and these items are snapped up as soon as the shops or markets put them up, even if their prices are doubled.
In a recent interview with Nanyang Siang Pau, Kuala Lumpur Hoi Seong Association vice-president Chia Chian Koong said the items are being stocked up to meet the demands during the Chinese New Year. He assures that chemicals such as formaldehyde are not employed to keep these items fresh.
Such practice, which is said to be still in practice in parts of Thailand, has been done away with due to the health risks it poses. Instead, the advance technology in refrigeration has enabled seafood to be stored hygienically and free from chemical contamination for a longer period.
Chia has led the Malaysia Fish Industry General Association for many years and he is currently the adviser of the association.
Being festive favourites among the Chinese, such items fetch a premium during the Chinese New Year holidays which fall on Feb 8 and 9 next year. What makes it to the Chinese New Year dining table has great cultural significance as every dish is steeped in tradition.
The Chinese fascination for homonym or words pronounced the same as another, regardless of meaning or spelling, means that several dishes are a must-have during the Spring Festival. Among them are rice cake or nian gao, long noodles or mian tiao that embody the concept of longevity, and the Chinese New Year fish dish is nian nian you yu which means “may the year bring prosperity”.
The ingredients to whip up these Chinese favourites often go into short supply in the weeks running up to the festival. The favourites among Malaysians and Singaporeans are big prawns and pomfret, and these items are snapped up as soon as the shops or markets put them up, even if their prices are doubled.
In a recent interview with Nanyang Siang Pau, Kuala Lumpur Hoi Seong Association vice-president Chia Chian Koong said the items are being stocked up to meet the demands during the Chinese New Year. He assures that chemicals such as formaldehyde are not employed to keep these items fresh.
Such practice, which is said to be still in practice in parts of Thailand, has been done away with due to the health risks it poses. Instead, the advance technology in refrigeration has enabled seafood to be stored hygienically and free from chemical contamination for a longer period.
Chia has led the Malaysia Fish Industry General Association for many years and he is currently the adviser of the association.
Chia says local traders are already stocked up on such seafood items and their Singapore counterparts are also buying them up in bulk to meet the demands during Chinese New Year. He adds that local pomfret belongs to the highest grade and are highly popular among Malaysians and Singaporeans.
“Although Singapore traders can also import the seafood from Indonesia, the volume is not large; they still prefer to follow the traditional way, which is to get the supply of Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand seafood through Malaysia,” Nanyang quotes him as saying.
The items are also being stocked up as Chinese fishermen in this region would normally take a break before the Chinese New Year to prepare for the festival. However, it is the demand for such seafood items that go very high and that pushes up their prices.
For instance the large white pomfret will fetch for more than RM100 per kg during the festival even though it costs only RM50 at normal period. In Singapore it could even fetch for as high as RM150 per kg, Chia says.
Chia believes this practice of hoarding or stocking up on such high-demand items is justifiable as it would ensure enough supply of such items during the festival.
The Control of Supplies Act, 1961 prohibit acts such as hoarding or refusal to sell controlled goods. The Festive Season Price-Controlled Scheme (SKHMP) was implemented since year 2000 under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 (formerly Price Control Act 1946).
Under this scheme, a number of essential festive season goods are identified as price-controlled goods wherein their maximum selling price will be determined according to areas and districts for a specified period. This scheme is enforced throughout Malaysia at the producer, wholesaler and retailer level.
Last year, the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry announced the maximum prices for 12 controlled items in conjunction with Chinese New Year. Among the items were live chicken, standard chicken, super chicken, chicken egg grades A, B, and C, imported round cabbages, garlic (from China), pomfret, large white prawns, prawn and pork. The implementation was under the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011.
It appears the Malaysia Fish Industry General Association is walking a thin lie between being practical and hoarding with profiteering in mind when they stock up these items two months ahead of the festival. - http://www.theheatmalaysia.com/
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