Fishmonger Lai Lee Yen, The Star reported, said the price of large prawns in Penang had increased drastically because of the weather.
“Fishermen are going out less because of strong winds and those who do usually end up with a low catch,” she was quoted as saying, adding that large prawns used to cost only RM60 a kilo.
She expects the price to continue rising until the Lunar New Year.
People, Lai added, were buying whatever they could now and “stocking up.”
Habib Najar Abdul Rashid, a 56-year-old who has been a fishmonger for 44 years, claimed prawn sellers were currently stocking up so that they could sell their catch during CNY.
“I expect pomfret to go up to over RM70 per kilo come Chinese New Year, but the price of other fish may increase by RM1 per kilo at most.
“There will always be a price hike for fish that is in demand during celebrations,” the English daily quoted him as saying.