Month of spirituality here, chicken, fish prices dive

CHENNAI: It is that time of year again. Fish and meat prices will fall and non-vegetarian restaurants will have significantly fewer patrons. The Tamil month of ‘Puratasi’ is here.


Puratasi, between September and October in the

Gregorian calendar

, is a spiritual time for many Hindus who eschew meat the entire month.

The wholesale rates of fish at the Kasimedu fishing harbour fell by ?1,000 to ?2,000 in the past week.

South Indian

Fishermen Welfare Association president K Bharathi said the harbour receives 150 tonnes of fish daily.

“There is no reduction in purchase of fish at Kasimedu, with traders buying the same quantities. But they have not been able to pass the stock to retailers because of the drop in demand.”

The wholesale price of seer fish at Kasimedu is between ?350/kg and ?400/kg. The price was ?500/kg till a fortnight ago. The wholesale prices of trevally and

pomfret

are now between ?300/kg and ?325/kg, market sources said.

R Kannan, a mobile fish vendor, who delivers fish at doorsteps in Ashok Nagar and Velacherry said his business has dropped by more than 50%: “I used to buy three baskets of fish at Kasimedu. I am now buying just two and only half is sold.”

Chicken prices have also fallen, though mutton rates remain unchanged. R Kareem, South Chennai secretary of Chennai Mutton Retailers Association, said restaurants continued to purchase

broiler

chicken. The price of 1kg of broiler chicken has dropped by ?40 in two weeks from ?220 to ?180. Attributing it to drop in demand during ‘Puratasi’, he said, “However, there is no change in mutton prices because traders are stocking goats for the upcoming festival season. With the number of goats slaughtered is less, it has helped to maintain its price despite demand for mutton has decreased.”

Meanwhile, eateries serving non-vegetarian dishes are witnessing significant drop in the number of consumers. R Rajkumar, secretary of Chennai Hotels Association said the dip is estimated at 15% to 20% since the beginning of the ‘Puratasi’ month last week. “At this month end, the average decrease in the sale would be about 30%,” he said. According to him, 4000 eateries serving non-vegetarian dishes are operating in Chennai.