The price war for sardine 'espetos' hots up in the beach bars of El Palo

It is the most popular food of the summer in the 'chiringuitos' (beach bars), and yet the most srutinised pricewise. The 'espeto' (sardine skewer) is at the centre of a war waging on the east side of Malaga. A dish that on average will cost five or six euros has been reduced to just two euros in many businesses in the district of El Palo.

The further you travel to the east of the city, the cheaper espetos are, while in Marbella and Estepona one can pay ten or eleven euros in even the most traditional bars.

Price wars

This price battle is its fiercest on the sand, especially on the beach of El Dedo. There, businesses such as Sherif Playa and Antonio promote their low prices on huge blackboards to attract the attention of the residents and tourists.

Paquito Medina, from the Antonio restaurant, explains that having them at that price hardly generates any profit but it does help to keep the tables occupied. "All our customers want espetos, so it's a good promotion," he said.

Iván Márquez, of Sherif Playa, thinks the same and explains that this war in reverse began a couple of years ago when a business started offering them at one euro and the rest followed suit.

"They have risen somewhat, but have remained very low compared to the rest of the coast," he said. He is also aware of the draw of low prices because more than 90% of the tables order espetos. "We're surprised if someone doesn't ask for one," he added.

The ability to lower prices to the maximum is a problem for the rest of the business owners in the area. Many of them buy the sardines when they are cheapest and freeze them, and can also buy them from Italy and even Croatia. "It's a product that varies a lot in the market, so if you only want to work with fresh, good quality sardines you cannot compete," they say.

Supply problems

As the coasts off Malaga cannot supply all the demand, many boxes of sardines come from Castellón and the Levante coast, "where the fish is very similar in quality".

The Malaga fishermen assure that working with this type of fish is complicated because you never know what price it will be since it varies depending on the boats that leave port and the time of year.

When key days arrive like the Night of San Juan or the Malaga Fair, "they take advantage and raise the price of a box of sardines".

Wholesalers sell the six-kilo 'corchos' for between 12 and 25 euros plus VAT, so that a kilo of sardines can cost up to about five euros in Mercamálaga, the wholesale market.

"To that we have to add the cost of our staff's wages, water, electricity ... it really does not pay to sell them at only two euros," they said.

The president of the Association of Fish Wholesalers of Mercamálaga, Luis Miguel Roldán, explains that currently there is a very high demand but little quantity of product, so the price is high.

Although he does not know how to explain the shortage of sardines, he considers that it is mainly due to the fishing grounds and explains that the few that are entering now come from the Spanish Levante. "It has nothing to do with jellyfish or anything like that," he explained.

Fluctuating prices

Currently sardines are sold at about three euros per kilo plus VAT but the price fluctuates a lot and rises towards the weekend, since that is when there is greater demand from the beach bars. "It is clear that the sardine is most in demand in the summer and the most are sold then."

Although they don't run out of supplies completely, this shortage of sardines is also reflected in the municipal markets.

During the past week just a couple of stalls at Malaga's Mercado Central have had a continuous supply of sardines and have been selling them at over five euros a kilo.

A fishmonger at La Merced market, Salvador Gallardo, explained that the problem is that now there are no sardines from the Costa del Sot, as fishermen are having to move to waters off Almeria for fear of the jellyfish. But he added: "The sardines are now at their very best."