Fish farmers decry low prices

Some fish farmers in Mzimba have expressed concern with low fish prices in the district, saying poor fish sales threaten their business’ sustainability.

In an interview on Sunday, a fish farmer Jonathan Nyirenda of Makazi Fish Farming Club in Manyamula described the low prices as not good for business.

“We lack a lucrative market where our fish can fetch better prices. Unfortunately, in Manyamula we sell the fish to vendors who offer cheap prices,” he said.

Nyirenda advised his fellow farmers to sell fish in groups to have bargaining powers.

Another farmer Elezina Chirwa, from Champhira, said better prices will motivate many people to venture into fish farming.

Mzimba district fisheries officer Andrew Saukani said it was difficult for farmers to realise profits if they keep selling fish at low prices.

“Although we are in a liberalised economy, prices should not be too low to make it difficult to recoup profit. We understand knowledge gaps among fish farmers and we need to train them on profit margin analysis,” he said.

Saukani said price data returns in the district show that some farmers are selling chambo at K3 000 per kilogramme (kg), lower than the average range of K4 500 to K5 000 per kg.

“We noted that many fish farmers do not use scales in transacting sales, thereby ending up with guess prices,” he said.