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Santhosh Chandran
Doha
THE special auction timing for the Holy Month of Ramadan at Umm Salal Fish Market is benefiting both customers and retailers as the latter have more time to sell whereas the former get freshly caught fish from the sea.
The Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) rescheduled the timing of market for the convenience of public, retailers and a large number of workers involved in everyday operation of the market during the Holy Month. According to the new schedule, the auction opens at 4am instead of its normal time at 7pm. The new timing will continue till the end of Ramadan.
According to market sources, the prevailing trend is that the demand for fish as compared to meat increases two weeks after the onset of Ramadan. A fish vendor said,"Usually, the sale of fish dips for a week in the beginning of Ramadan and picks up after a couple of weeks."
As for buyers, they get fresh fish from the sea as the auction is held even before its catching. An off-loading employee at the market said,"The auction begins three hours ahead of the delivery of fish at the market. So, a customer does not have to wait for the auction to be over to buy the fish as it is available for them immediately after reaching the market."
A supplier at the market said,"Early auction help us to distribute the yield to the retailers immediately after reaching the market. This makes freshly caught sea fish available for customers. In the new arrangement, retailers get more time to sell as well."
A retailer said,"Ramadan timing is more convenient and comfortable for us. Now, the fish reaches shops immediately after the auction. So, we get five to seven hours to sell the fish. And, if at all some quantity remains unsold someday, it is negligible."
According to sources, around 35 to 50 containers of fish reach at the market from different ports of Qatar with each truck carrying on an average 2,000 kg of fish.
