Families cut back at the table to face increases. “The prices are at the point of death, you can no longer eat a steak and a half”

The stall owner invites us to look at the parade of fish resting between number plates, waiting to be put into a bag. A kilo of turbot costs 21.90 euros, grouper 20 euros, large sea bass 17.90 euros and sea bream 12 euros. “Fish is very expensive, mackerel was the fish of the poor and now only for the rich. See those gold ones for 20 euros? When I started this job 25 years ago, I sold them for four reais”, recalls Sérgio Martins.

These days, business is being done with difficulty and strategy, in a fine price exercise that, if not meticulously thought out, could be fatal. “People visit the entire market for a difference of 20 cents, it’s enough to stop buying here and go to the stall next door. It’s tough, we’re trying to get our clientele to move forward”, confesses the salesman.

The situation is not recent and the costs already started to take a toll last year. The rise in inflation, now added to the increase in fuel prices, has caused the bill to rise and drive away customers. “Many come here, look and leave. Poor things, they can’t buy it. Some have the fish weighed, see the price and then say they can’t buy it and so I don’t take it the wrong way. Of course I don’t take this the wrong way, how do you live today paying rent, bills and having such expensive food? It doesn’t work,” he says.

The alternative is to curb consumption, but when choosing what to put on your plate, it is essential to find solutions. “People don’t take it for big meals. Three mackerels aren’t enough for a family. If I go to the butcher’s, I buy a chicken weighing a kilo and a half, cut it up little by little and make a garden. It yields more”, he compares.

It only takes half a dozen steps to reach Talho 25. The chicken is priced at 3.58 euros, confirming the market neighbor’s argument. Around here, it is the most sold meat, followed by turkey. The pork “is still at a reasonable price”, unlike the pieces of beef that rarely sell anymore. The lower prices for fish have helped sales to stay afloat, but the belt for those who arrive is tight.