Fish auctions at the fish market in Kuwait - an experience that you should not miss

I love local markets because it gives you the opportunity to learn more about a culture than you would ever think. You see what people eat, what they appreciate by comparing the prices of goods. You learn what are the local preferences and how do people make their business. The whole selling-buying process is really entertaining. I've been to fish markets in Mubarkiya but those are totally different. When i heard that there is something bigger in Sharq i knew that i have to go there and i did.

Fish auctions allows you to buy big amount of fish at a better price, but generally fish is quiet expensive in Kuwait. Everyone interested screams his price offer and who wins takes it all. Shrimps are cheaper than clean frozen ones in UE. And there is one more thing, everything Kuwaiti caught from the gulf is way more expensive than imported fish/shrimps (most of the times grown in farms), sometimes even at a double price which is strange but I admire the national spirit. We are used to imported goods to be more expensive. Something Moldova should learn from: make local products more expensive than imported ones when the quality is really better and these products deserve this. What we have is cheap imported products, so cheap that they don't even cover production price, not mentioning the needed profit to ensure the survival of small local businesses. Moldovan producers often bankrupt because they can't face the concurrence of imported goods that are way cheaper. It may sound a cliche but i know this from a personal experience of producing and selling beef/pork meat that has so many rules. Small producers are forced to sell their meat with a very low price to intermediates that after sell it farther with a bigger price having a clean profit without exposing themselves to so many risks involved in animal breeding and meat production. Here comes the question, why don't small producers sell their meat directly to the consumers with a good price? Because the consumers are asking for a big amount of meat, cut and presented in a certain way. They don't have the mood and the energy to collect the meat from the small producers, they just want to deal with one company that gives them everything. At the same time small farmers/meat producers can't afford to buy expensive means of transport with refrigeration etc. But this is a whole new topic so let's get back to where we started.

So what is a fish auction? I will try to describe the process so you can get a whole image. 

Sellers bring big amount of fish in baskets, or even they put it on the floor, mixing it with ice. People gather around and they hear the seller screaming the price. Buyers put their bid and wait until there is nobody else interested. Who has a bigger offer takes the whole basket of fish and shrimps. All this auctions happen simultaneously: many sellers place their goods to auction and there are small groups of people screaming and choosing the fish.

The buyers are usually men and old women. You wont see too many young people or young women. The smell is really strong so the best option is to take with you spare clothes or wear something that you are not so sad about ruining it with a strong fish smell. It is also good to wear some rubber shoes because this souq is in a closed place (building), the floor is covered with tiles and in the place where auctions happen its quiet messy and wet. Unfortunately didn't take pictures with the actual auction happening because in that moment people were pushing each other, workers were carrying fish...and everything was just too exciting and it is something that you have to see live.