Tapas Ranjan Das; Abhishek Kumar; Ipseeta Satpathy; Arvind Tripathy
Abstract
In recent years, marketing of live freshwater fish has assumed great importance in the state of Odisha. This process involves fish transportation in suitable containers (1000 litres ...
Read More
In recent years, marketing of live freshwater fish has assumed great importance in the state of Odisha. This process involves fish transportation in suitable containers (1000 litres capacity) from the fish pond to the fish market in live condition for sale. This article seeks to describe the various technical and commercial aspects of marketing of live fish, including its profitability in the state of Odisha. The profitability of a business or private firm refers to its potential to earn profits through its operations. Live fish is sold in several markets of Odisha, namely Bhubaneswar, Balasore, Baripada, etc. Further, this article tries to identify the factors responsible for successful transportation of live fish. It also tries to identify the reasons for which fish farmers and fish traders do live fish marketing (LFM). The article makes an effort to find out the markets where live fish is sold within Odisha State. The fish is kept alive during transit from the pond to the market by continuous supply of oxygen to the water through various means of aeration. Hence, although the entire process is tedious, it is undertaken with the profit motive. At present, people in Odisha are increasingly interested in buying live fish in contrast to dead or iced fish owing to its freshness and taste. Consequently, live fish fetches a price which is 40-60 percent higher (per kg) than the price of dead or iced fish. Live fish marketing in Odisha is carried out by both the fish farmers (i.e. producers) and the traders (i.e. retailers).
