The authorities have also reached agreements with local fisheries companies to allocate larger portions of their output to meet domestic demand, Fisheries Minister Dr Hamad bin Said Al Oufi told the official Oman News Agency (ONA) in an interview.

Prices of fish and fish products have been shooting up in the country for the past many months together with those of most other commodities of daily consumption.

Earlier this month, His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said gave orders to the government to take immediate steps to bring prices under control.

Oufi said limits on fish imports had been removed and stricter health control procedures had been enforced at ports to ensure the health and safety of consumers. He added that following an agreement with private fish marketing companies, they had now started selling their products in larger quantities in the local market at ‘suitable prices’.

Also, the ministry was considering opening shops to sell fresh and frozen fish and fish products in the various regions and wilayats in association with the ‘Sanad’ programme that supports ventures by young Omanis, Oufi said.

A number of private firms, he added, had agreed to provide these stores with supplies. “Several new shops will be opened soon in the wilayats of Nizwa and Ibri. These shops will make available fish all day long at competitive prices and high quality,” he said.

He added another step taken by the government was to allow imports of fish products from neighbouring countries and re-export them to “alleviate pressure on the local market. This will contribute positively to the fisheries and added value industries and lead to more contribution of this sector to the GDP, in addition to creating job opportunities for Omanis”.