SEAFOOD prices have surged between 20% and 40% ahead of the lunar new year season due to movement restrictions, lower catch during the monsoon season and foreign labour shortage, said industry players.

These factors are causing large Chinese restaurants to hold back on stocking up on seafood, Malaysia Fish Industry General Association president Chia Tian Hee said.

Movement restrictions, whether or not the current movement-control order (MCO) is extended beyond February 4, will also still apply during Chinese New Year, resulting in almost no bookings for reunion dinners and company feasts.

While direct orders via online shopping from households have covered part of the demand from restaurants, Chia said seafood prices are still going up due to bad weather.

He said up to 70% of fishing boats in the northern part of the peninsula did not head out to sea in recent weeks due to the weather, resulting in the worst seafood yield in eight years.

“Now we (don’t have) enough supply to meet demand since online orders from households looking to celebrate Chinese New Year at home has been huge,” Chia said.

In Sekinchan in Selangor, fishing boats are facing a labour shortage, he said.

“There is the issue of having to train foreign labourers for six months before they are fit to head out to sea, only to have them poached by other, higher paying jetties.”

Combined with the heavier-than-usual rainfall this monsoon, he said some boats have seen their haul fall by up to 20%, the worst yield in the past eight years.

“We’ve faced similar circumstances before, of heavy rainfall and reduced yield, but this is expected to continue until after the lunar new year,” he said.

Seafood prices that have increased are medium-sized prawns, which are now going for about RM62 to RM63 per kg instead of the usual RM52.

“Chinese families also love to eat pomfret, but this fish is now about RM40 more expensive than it usually is due to the reduced yield.

“A fishing boat can be out at sea the whole week and only manage to catch two or three pomfrets. There is now huge demand from customers and there is significant pressure on our fishermen to meet it,” he said.

Restaurants adapting

Malaysia Koo Soo Restaurants and Chefs’ Association president Wong Teu Hoon said large Chinese restaurants now avoid stocking up on seafood in anticipation of poor sales.

“During the past Chinese New Year seasons, restaurants ordered between 300kg and 400kg of seafood to be frozen and stored.

“This year, we only received 30% to 50% of the usual amount in orders. Restaurants will still order some for takeaway services,” Wong said.

Many large Chinese restaurants are also opting to not open for dine-in and focus on takeaway for the remainder of the year.

This strategy is a way to minimise losses, as it avoids the need for future closures and testing if a customer gets infected with Covid-19.

Wong also said many restaurants have also reduced their prices for takeaway food, compared to previous dine-in prices.

“In the past, feast packages are typically priced at RM1,000 and above. Now, the takeaway packages we’re offering are between RM300 and RM400.”

Wong said restaurants have also learned valuable lessons from movement restrictions, for example, taking more orders than the kitchen is able to dish out.

Now, restaurants limit the number of orders to a number they know they can handle in a day for customers to take away.

Large Chinese restaurants intend to open until 8pm on the eve of Chinese New Year, when the reunion meal is eaten, and will also open on the first day of the new year from 4pm to 8pm, he said.

“It makes sense to be open for these hours for takeaways even though it’s a public holiday as many people won’t be travelling to their hometowns to celebrate due to movement restrictions.” – January 28, 2021.