The state of Chhattisgarh of Indian nation has vast and varied natural water resources for fish production in the form of rivers, reservoirs, ponds and tanks which produce maximum production of fishes. About 1,53,873 hectare of water area is available for fish production, out of which 83,873 hectares (54.51 %) of water spread area is in the form of reservoirs which are famous for cage culture where high stocking density as well as very yield is taking. In 20 years back, fish and fish seed were supplied by West Bengal and Odisha states but now days, both are surplus and providing to nearby states. In Raipur district, fish production was recorded at 11.53 units, out of which 3.47 units were used for home consumption, leaving a marketable surplus of 8.04 units (69.73%). The majority of fish (74.98%) was sold through Channel III, followed by Channels II and I. Despite its high usage, Channel III had the lowest marketing efficiency (7.79%). Channel I, though less used, showed the highest efficiency (76.27%), with producers earning 98.7% of the consumer’s price. In Channel II, producers received 92.23% of the final price, with an efficiency of 15.68% and a price spread of Rs. 1320 per quintal. The findings that direct marketing (Channel I) is more profitable for producers, while longer supply chains reduce their earnings and efficiency. Promoting shorter marketing channels can increase producer income and overall marketing performance.
Sasmal et al. (Wed,) studied this question.