Marketing System and Efficiency of Indian Major Carps in India

The Kolleru Lake area (KLA) in Andhra Pradesh being a predominant centre for carp culture is known as the ‘Carp Pocket of India’. This paper has described the highly efficient fish marketing system prevalent in the KLA and has compared it with the marketing of Indian Major Carps (IMC) in other major aquaculture states like West Bengal and Orissa and marine states like Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. The marketing channels, market intermediaries, price spread and marketing efficiency have been presented. A comparison of the marketing channels at several fish markets has revealed that the price spread for IMC from Kolleru is highest at the Mumbai market and lowest at the Coimbatore market. Consequently, fishermen’s share in consumer price has been found highest for Coimbatore at 61.54 per cent and lowest for Mumbai at 47.06 per cent. Similarly, the marketing efficiency was the highest for Coimbatore at 2.60 and lowest for Mumbai at 1.89. Retail price for KLA carps has been found lower than locally cultured carps at various areas, reflecting the efficiency of the marketing channel in providing cheap fish transported over large distances and through a large number of intermediaries. The reasons for the efficient IMC marketing system at KLA have been discussed and the study has recommended the development of efficient fish marketing system in other parts of the country