Mapping of marketing channels and price ranges of commercially important finfish species in the coastal districts of West Bengal, India

This study was conducted to map the marketing channels and price ranges of some commercially important marine finfish species in two coastal districts of West Bengal.Nine commercially important marine finfish species were investigated.Different nodes were found to be involved in the marketing channel depending on the commercial value of the species, and a large gap was observed between the price in the retail market and the price received by the primary fisher.A large number of stakeholders are involved and find employment in the fish marketing chain as fishers, assemblers, processors, traders, wholesalers, retailers, transporters and loading and unloading workers.The price range of Bombay duck (Harpadon nephereus) was Rs. 25-50/kg at the auction centre level to Rs. 300-500/kg at the level of retailers in distant markets.For Silver pomfret (Pampus griseus), the price range had large fluctuations with Rs. 150-1000/kg at the auction centre level itself.When the commodity reaches the retailers in the distant markets, the price range was Rs. 350 to 1300/kg.The marketing chain for the flow of Orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides) was narrow with the nodes such as commission agents, assemblers, wholesalers and retailers, who play a major role in distributing the landings from the auction centre to domestic consumers.Processing and export nodes were not to be found.The price range was Rs. 200-300/kg at the auction centre level to Rs. 400-500/kg at the retailer level in distant markets.The investigation exposed the range of actors required to bring the product from the landing centre through the different phases of distribution