Comparative economic performance of traditional and modernised fishmeal units in Veraval, Gujarat

Abstract

Fish meal is an important feed ingredient produced from trash and low value fishes and is widely used in the poultry, aquafeed and agricultural sector. In addition to traditional sun dried product, modern fish meal is produced by modern fish meal plants. This paper presents a comparison of economic performance of fish meal units adopting the traditional and modern methods of fish meal production in Veraval, Gujarat. The study was conducted among 12 fish meal plants operating in Veraval. In the traditional method, the raw material is sourced from and nearby places within the state which is sun dried and then ground to produce fish meal. In modern fish meal units, through a mechanised production line, raw fish is steam-cooked, dried and finally ground to produce fish meal. Quality of the fish meal produced in the modernised units was found to be superior as compared to traditional fish meal. While sun dried fish meal fetches `20-30 kg-1, the fish meal produced in modern units is sold at `50-70 kg-1. Even though the initial investment and operational cost, which includes raw material, labour and other overheads is more in the modern method, the price realisation is almost double per unit of the product and the quality of the fish meal is also better than the traditionally produced one. The benefit cost ratio and net present value for modern method was also estimated to be higher.