The frozen fish vendors of Daloa have suspended their activities until Monday, October 26, following a protest held on Wednesday, October 21, against the sharp increase in their purchase prices, according to the Ivorian Press Agency. Received by the prefect of Haut-Sassandra, Yacouba Doumbia, they have maintained this halt pending a new discussion with the authorities.
The president of the women traders, Lago Liliane, told AIP that the purchase price of Apolo fish had risen from 19,000 to 35,000 CFA francs. That of Sosso is said to have increased from 18,000 to 46,000 CFA francs. These amounts are those reported by the sellers, with the regional Directorate of Commerce tasked with examining their evolution.
The prefect tasked the regional director of Commerce, N’cho Beda Jean, with examining the price developments. He called on the protesters to remain calm and committed to meeting with them again on Monday, notably in the presence of the deputy mayor of Daloa, Inza Sylla.
The female traders have, however, decided not to resume their sales before this meeting. Their movement aims to obtain explanations regarding price formation and the successive increases which, according to them, significantly reduce their margins.
Before the meeting at the prefecture, demonstrators visited several cold storage facilities in the city. Damage was reported by Aka Marcel, president of the cold storage facilities of Haut-Sassandra, although no official assessment of the material losses is available.
Aka Marcel stated that the price increase did not directly depend on local operators and mentioned international factors without providing details. The mission assigned to the regional Directorate of Commerce is precisely to establish the factors that led to the prices being criticized.
The mobilization in Daloa comes two days after a similar protest at the main market in Abobo regarding the price of fish. The meeting scheduled for Monday is intended to allow local authorities to present the initial findings of their investigation.
