The founder of the Port Said Fish Boycott Campaign, Wissam al-Safty, thanked the rapid response to the campaign which grew until it reached to over 11 governorates in solidarity.
During a phone interview with “Yahdoth fi Masr” (Happening in Egypt) program on Tuesday, Safty said that he started this initiative before Ramadan due to the noticeable rise in seafood prices.
“Today, when I am in a coastal city, I cannot, as a poor, middle-income or low-income citizen, eat fish, which is a basic meal for me, as in Port Said, then there is must be something goes, that we must confront it,” he explained.
“When the price of a kilo of fish reaches LE200, and the price of shrimp reaches LE400, and the price of mullet reaches LE180, then there is something strange.”
He continued, “We asked vendors in the street or in the market, and their response to us was that it was a matter for the (wholesale) merchant because the vendor buys fish at a high price and sells it at a high price. We spoke with the merchant, and his response was that these are the prices, and there was a clear and frank arm-twisting.”
Boycott continues during Sham al-Nessim
Safty explained, “We intended for the initiative to continue for a week, from Sunday to Sunday, but we will continue this boycott even after the spring holidays and the end of Sham al-Nessim.”
Fish is essential for the citizens of Port Said, which is typically eaten two to three times a week, he said, but now not even the poorest or the richest of citizens can eat fish in Port Said.
He noted that “Damietta, Suez, Ismailia, Alexandria, Kafr al-Sheikh, and Mansoura are with us, and I appeal to our people in Cairo to boycott the high fish prices.”
Fish prices in Port Said for the third day in a row have now decreased by 50 percent as a result of the campaign, he added.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
