An Economic Evaluation of Freshwater Fish Production and Marketing in Gujarat

Abstract

The current study was carried out to examine the costs and returns of pond fish production under various farm size categories in Gujarat. Additionally, it examined the marketing structure and effectiveness in selected fish markets of Gujarat. The information was gathered between 2021 and 2022 from 60 fish producers in Gujarat's four principal fish-producing areas. The study revealed that the per ha variable average cost of producing fish was 2,17,134.90. However, large farm sizes were found to have higher costs and net revenue per ha followed by medium and small farm sizes. The cost of labour, food, land rent, and harvesting substantially impacted the gross income of fish farms. Depending on the distance to the wholesale market, it was found that the marketing effectiveness of prevalent marketing channels ranged from 3.16 to 29.30 per cent. The percentage of the consumer's rupee went to the fisher, ranging from 68.50 to 96.77 per cent. esults encouraging small farmers to operate The r revealed that collectively and creating modern, specialized infrastructure facilities are necessary to ensure better monetary returns for the farmers.