The tradition that drains like water
Official figures confirm it: Easter is no longer what it was for fish consumption. Despite it being the peak season par excellence, sales plummet. The Council for the Development of Small Commerce (Concomercio) releases the data with concern.
The main reason? Fewer and fewer people follow the practice of vigil. Gerardo López Becerra, president of the organization, says it bluntly: in a decade, sales have dropped by up to 40%.
“Years ago businesses were supplied with up to 100 kilos of shrimp… currently they acquire less than 60 kilos,” explains López Becerra.
The risk for small businesses is real: unsold merchandise and direct losses. Previously, this week concentrated up to 20% of the annual consumption of seafood. Now, that figure is a memory.
Red snapper, octopus, tilapia… all in the same network
The drop in demand is general. The star products of these dates – shrimp, octopus, red snapper – no longer have the same shine. What used to be a 40% to 60% increase in sales is today a struggle to not lose money.
Faced with this panorama, Concomercio calls on the authorities. They ask to promote consumption, highlighting the nutritional value and the economic impact on thousands of families who make a living from this.
But the question remains floating in the air: can a tradition be rescued by decree? Or we are simply seeing how times change and, with them, what we put on the table.
