Rumor of Pig Carcass Contamination Drops Fish Prices in Medan
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Editor
5 December 2019 10:10 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Traders at Medan City Market complained about falling prices of fish due to the drastic drop of consumption that is believed to be driven by the incident that saw pig carcasses dumped into the area’s river. This fear was shared by the region’s governor Edhy Rahmayadi.
The fish price slump contrasts the prices of chicken meat and eggs that have skyrocketed constantly for several weeks.
This phenomenon was reported by North Sumatra Governor Edy Rahmayadi after Wednesday’s field inspection at the market in preparation for the upcoming Christmas and New Year celebration.
“We have predicted that the prices of chicken and eggs will spike because of the pig carcass that was dumped to the local river,” said Edy.
Aligning with the governor’s fears, local fish trader Tetty Simbolon confirmed the issue about pig carcasses causing the drop in demand for local fish products. He believes the demand has even decreased 70 percent, even though the fish he sells are ocean fish.
“This has cost us. The fish products are caught from the sea and pig carcasses may only possibly reach the coastline beaches. [Fears of] fish exposed to pig carcass is a lie,” said Tetty.
In accommodating the complaints from market traders, Edy confirmed that the hog cholera virus rumor has driven people away from consuming fish and moved to eat chicken, eggs, and red meat. Even though, he reminds, the virus only affects pigs alike.
MEI LEANDHA (MEDAN)
