Demand pattern and willingness to pay for high value fishes in India

Abstract

The fish consumption pattern across 540 urban middle income consumers was studied in metropolitan cities of Chennai, Mumbai and Cochin in India. The study focused on income and expenditure pattern, buying behaviour, constraints in fish consumption and willingness to pay (WTP) for high value fishes among the consumers. WTP was determined using logit model. Domestic prices were 20-25 percent more than export price nevertheless a sizeable demand exists with high consumer surplus. The constraint analysis indicated reduced availability, seasonal consumption and exorbitant price of fish in the domestic market. Most domestic consumers were unaware about the low export price and around 50 percent indicated then WTP for if available. The study exposed significant deleterious effect of fish demand - supply mismatch in domestic market. The study advocates governmental interventions in regulating fish exports to ensure domestic fish food security and substituting exports with domestic marketing considering the sizeable WTP.