Fish prices in India have shot up by 10% to 30% in the last one year and there is no sign of cooling off in prices as domestic demand is increasing at a pace that outstrips supply.
India has a fishery production of 6.57 million tonne per annum from both captured and cultured resources.
Prices are increasing in West Asia too, especially in Dubai, Bahrain and Muscat, by 6-8 % in the last one year but a downward trend is being noticed in the European Union and China. There has been a 25% drop in the prices in the EU and China.
Pradeep Ghivalikar, owner of Mumbai-based Ghivalikar Fish Traders, said: "There has been an increase of 10% in prices in the last one year.
There are three factors that have pushed up the prices. Firstly, the transportation cost has gone up due to a hike in diesel prices.
Secondly, fishermen say that the cost of catching fish has increased and thirdly, the demand has jumped as health-conscious people prefer fish to meat. In Mumbai, for instance, pomfret fish is selling at.800 per kg, which has appreciated 40% in the last three years. Goa, a major fish consuming state, is facing a huge demand from hotel industry. Moreover, impurities in river and sea have impacted fish production.
Sandeep Bharney, owner of Bharneys, a 40-year old fish trading firm, said: "Fish rates have gone up drastically in Goa. Artificial demand has been created here because of a flourishing hospitality industry.
Catches have also come down." West Bengal is facing severe shortage. Arrivals from Madhya Pradesh and Bihar have dwindled as fish catching has become difficult due to harsh winter. The state's fish production has also reduced.
Prices of common Rohu and Katla fishes have seen a 30% increase. Pomfret, a favourite among the fish eaters, is now fetching.360 per kg.
Ishrar Ahmed, owner of Madhya Pradesh-based Roshan Fish Traders, said that there has been a decline in fish supply to West Bengal due to cold weather. "By February, the situation will improve," he said.
Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI ) has submitted a conservation policy for fish production to the West Bengal government. "West Bengal consumes 12 lakh tonne fish annually and the demand is going up 10% annually," said Utpal Bhaumik, head (riverine division), CIFRI.
However, fish prices have come down in Europe and China as the purchasing power has come down in these nations.
"A lot of fish is bought by China and then reprocessed and exported to Europe. Portugal, Spain and France are the big buyers of Indian marine products," said Jagdish Fofandi, owner of Deepmala Marine Exports.
For Indian exporters, price surge in West Asia has come as a blessing.
A senior official from Coimbatore-based Sunjoys Corporation has said that the prices of black tiger prawns have improved in this region in the last one year.
Seafood exporters have to expand their markets and export value-added, processed products rather than commodities, according to the Commerce Secretary, Mr S.R. Rao.
So far, the current fiscal has witnessed a 7 per cent drop in seafood exports as compared to last year's shipments worth Rs 16,597 crore for the full year. Shrimps account for nearly half of the exports.
The prevailing global economic uncertainty, coupled with the eurozone crisis and the slowdown in the US are seen as the reasons for the drop. And increased competition from Vietnam and the Philippines has further offset realisations.
It has been pointed out that in order to grow, Indian exporters would have to focus on value-added, processed product exports to new markets such as Africa and China, while also exploiting the strengthening trade ties with Japan and South Korea.
According to Ms Leena Nair, Chairman of the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), while exports are down in dollar terms, initial numbers indicate quantitative growth.