Upsurge in exports and price rise of mackerels in the retail markets of Kerala

Abstract

The finfish export from the country witnessed remarkable progress in the late 90s due to the reduction in the catch rates of export oriented items such as shrimps and cephalopods. The less stringent quality control measures in major importing countries promoted the exports of finfishes which helped the exporters to bridge the gap in capacity deficiencies and attain scale economies. There was a boost in the exports of low value pelagics such as oil sardines and mackerels due to increase in the purchase prices of high value finfishes such as pomfrets, seerfishes and ribbon fishes.