Fish of choice- An analytical hierarchy process to determine fish consumption in West Bengal

Abstract

The factors affecting consumers’ decision in selecting most preferredfish species for consumption in Kolkata, West Bengal was explored based on the survey of 250 households, 125 each sourcing the household fish purchase from the traditional fish markets and modern retail outlets for consumption purpose. Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to determine the criteria that influenced choice of most desired fish. Based on the concept of pairwise comparison, the results revealed that choice of fish was influenced by price of fish (9.38 percent), fish quality (58.51 percent) and taste preference (32.12 percent) in the traditional fish market, whereas in modern retail market, choice of fish depended upon price (9.29percent), quality (61.22 percent) and taste (29.50 percent). Considering these criteria, the most desired type of fish based on price was hilsa (44.64 percent) in traditional fish market while in modern retail market, it was rohu (53.25percent). Considering the quality, most preferred fish was hilsa (45.14 and 59.55 percent) in traditional and modern retail markets respectively. Based on taste, the most preferred fish was hilsa (52.12 and 59.01 percent) in both the markets. This paper describedthechoice of preferred fish for consumption based on several identified criteria and served as a guide to both the buyers and sellers of fish and fish products to produce products of desired quality, with a good price in a hygienic condition.