According to a tour carried out by ANGOP at the dried fish market in the Buraco neighbourhood, Mussulo commune, Talatona municipality, it was possible to verify a large influx of women, from other municipalities in Luanda, to that market to buy dried fish for the evening meal Christmas Eve.
A resident of the urban district of Maianga, speaking to ANGOP, referred that the value of imported cod has skyrocketed, forcing several families to opt for dried fish.
"The prices of imported cod have soared, which forces many families to retreat and opt for a good funge, with dried fish, for the Christmas Eve menu", said Joana dos Prazeres.
On her turn, Ana Paula Barbosa, resident in the urban district of Kilamba, regretted that the meager resources do not allow her to purchase the 'traditional' imported cod, even when making the shared purchase, writes Angop.
According to some vendors, in the last two weeks, sales of dried fish have increased considerably, with competition from customers and resellers from other parts of the country, who prefer to buy croaker or salted cod locally.
According to Mateus Julião, a dried fish seller, currently, among the preferred areas to buy dried fish are, for example, Buraco, Cabo Ledo and Miradouro da Lua, and then the product is taken and resold in provinces in the interior of the country, such as for example Uíge, Malanje, Lunda Norte and Lunda Sul.
With regard to prices, according to Angop, four boards of national cod – weighing around two kilograms – cost around 10,000 kwanzas at the Mercado do Buraco, while the same amount of croaker ranges from around seven to eight thousand kwanzas.
In some supermarkets in Luanda, the average value of imported codfish is between 25 and 28 thousand kwanzas for one and a half kilograms, while in warehouses a package of 10 to 15 kilograms of this product is priced at 120 to 125 thousand kwanzas.
