DOHA: The evening shift introduced in the central fish market last Thursday has evoked a lukewarm response among customers, say vendors.
The evening sales have been introduced on a trial basis for one month. The Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning had said that a decision whether to make the new schedule permanent will be taken based on feedback from the fishermen, vendors and other sections concerned.
Although the evening schedule is from 6pm to 11pm, the stalls are getting closed much earlier due to shortage of customers, it is learnt. “There is hardly any customer in the market at this time and we are preparing to close,” a vendor told this daily at around 9pm yesterday.
He felt that the cold and windy weather could be a factor deterring many people from visiting the market in the evenings. The turn out may increase in the days to come if the weather becomes pleasant and when people get accustomed to the new schedule, he added.
“Most people prefer the hypermarkets to the central market to buy fish. The new system is not likely to change this practice,” said another vendor.
Several salesmen in the market complained that with introduction of the evening shift, they have been forced to work for long hours. “We are working in the morning and evening shifts. Fish market is not a place suitable to work for so long,” lamented a salesman.
The market last week also introduced evening auction, in addition to the morning auction. Imported fish is auctioned in the morning while the evening auction is exclusively for the local catch, say the vendors.
This means that to buy fresh Qatari fish, one will have to visit the market in the evening. In the absence of enough customers in the evening, the traders would store the remaining stocks for the next day and sell it along with the imported ones. Most traders said that the evening shifts have no significant impact on the prices, which remain stable these days.
The Peninsula
