The document summarizes the traditional marketing channel of dried fish in Digha coast, West Bengal. It describes the fish drying process used in structures called khatis. Various fish species collected are dried and sold through a marketing channel. Fishermen and fish processors have low profits due to many middlemen and issues like lack of market access and high transportation costs. The document recommends improving infrastructure, hygiene, and transportation to enhance the quality and profitability of dried fish production.

1. Presented by-
Soumyadip Purkait
Roll No.- M/F/2016/19
M.F.Sc 2nd Year
Dept. of Fishery Economics and Statistics
F.F.Sc, W.B.U.A.F.S.
Traditional marketing channel of dry fish in Digha
coast of West Bengal
Major Advisor: Prof. S. Sahu

2. Introduction
Study area
Process of dry fish production
Fish species
Comparison of prices in different raw and dried fishes
Weight losses during drying
Order wise rate of different fishes used in sun drying
Percentage of seasonal supply
Fish rate in Marketing channel
Marketing channel
Transportation
Recommendation
Conclusion
Bibliography
Contents

3. India is the second largest fish producing country with the
contribution of 5.43% in global fish production (FAO, 2012) and
West Bengal is the second largest fish producing state of India
(DADF, 2016).
West Bengal has a coastline of 157.5 km and covers mainly
the districts of South and North 24 Parganas and Purba
Medinipur (Dan, 1985).
Fish is an important part of the regular diet and is a cheap
source of protein for the peoples of West Bengal.
Introduction

4. About 78% of total fish catch is consumed in fresh
condition, 6% is used as dry fish and rest is used as frozen
fish. Indian dry fish export contributes 8% of all form of fish
exports and earned 754 crores during 2012-2013 (MPEDA,
2013).
The nutritional quality of dried fish remains intact,
sometimes retains higher quality standards compared to fresh
fish (Faruque et al., 2012).

5. FISH DRYING
Marine fish drying is very common in the entire coast of
India. In West Bengal this practice is quite common in 24
Parganas (South and North) and Purba Medinipur.
Dried fishes have demand both in domestic and
international market and plays an important role in
employment generation of coastal poor people (Goswami et
al., 2002).
In dry fish marketing channel, people involved early in the
production chain (fishing and drying) add relatively more
value and make little profit due to small scale production,
poor product quality, lack of market access and high
transportation cost/toll/taxation etc. ( Nowsad,2007).

6. Egra regulated dry fish market, Purba Medinipur, West
Bengal is the largest regulated dry fish market of West
Bengal, India (Ghorai et al., 2014). Different kinds of
dried fish from all dry fish processing area of coastal
West Bengal (Digha Mohona, Sankarpur, Jaldakhoti,
Junput, Sagar Island) and Odisha usually come to this
market. These dried fish later supplied to different
markets such as Assam, Siliguri, Odisha, Bihar and
some other parts of India and abroad.

7. Khatis
Figure. 1 Figure. 2
Fish drying units of West Bengal are locally called as Khatis.
In Khatis (Figure. 1,2) fishes are dried under natural sunlight
in bamboo poles in the coastal areas. The drying is dependent
on the method of hanging, intensity of sunlight, air flow and
humidity.

8. Raw fishes are purchased from the market (auction) and
transported to the khati for further procurement as and
when required. This kind of activities mainly observed in
Jaldha and Junput khaties.
Dry fishes are prepared through the process of
washing and followed by salting in a separate chamber or
direct application of salt. The dry fish producers used salts
to remove the water from the fish body and dried under
direct sunlight on chhambra. The amounts of salts are
used 3-4 kg /100 kg of raw fish.
Drying in khatis

9. After salting, fishes are kept in the bamboo made
structure called pata for the drying of fishes. Pata are
changed in every 2-3 years. Fishes generally takes 3 to 7
days for complete drying. If there is not sufficient
sunlight due to cloudy weather then the length of drying
time may increase up to one fortnight. After complete
drying, dried fishes are stored in the jute bag, locally
called ‘chat bosta’. After preparation of dry fishes, these
are purchase by the Paikers or Beparis from the khati
owners.

10. Every khati also produces fish meal from the trash fishes
of low market price. During the period of fish meal
preparation fishermen used to dump them on to the
ground and spreading them by the locally wooden made
instrument known as pata. After drying the fishermen
grind the trash fish and sieving them with large mesh
sized (3.0-4.0 cm) sieve and then by the small mesh sized
(0.5-2.0 cm) sieve respectively. After fish meal
preparation fishermen kept them in chat bosta and sell
them to the Baparis. In fish meal preparation raw fishes
are collected @ Rs.5-7/kg and after preparation of fish
meal it is sold @ Rs.80-90/kg depending upon their
quality.

11. DifferentpicturesofsundryingindifferentkhatiesofWestBengalcoast.(Payraetal.,2016)

12. (Payra et al.,2016)

13. • Below table indicate the total area of the khati, number of
fishermen involved in the khati and their sources of raw fish
collections.
Name of the
Khati
Total area of
the
Khati
(acre)
Total number
of
Fishermen
involved
(approx.)
Source of the raw fish species
Sankarpur khati 4-5 2,000-2,500
Digha mohana and deep sea fishing
Jaldha khati 20 3,000-4,500
Digha mohana and fishing with their
own boat
Digha mohana
khati
5-6 1,500-3,000
Digha mohana
Junput-salua
khati
17 2,500-3,000
Digha mohana and fishing with their
own boat
Petuaghat khati 4-5 1,500-2,000 Petuaghat jette
(Payra et al., 2016)

14. • 19 species are use for the production of dry fish, out of which 16 are
finfishes and rest of them were shell fishes. The different types of
fish species which are used in dry fish production are harvested by
the fishermen in the coastal region of the West Bengal and their
details like systematic position, vernacular name and area of
collection are as below.
Fish species

15. Cont…
(Payra et al., 2016)

16. Species
Average price of
the raw fish/kg.
(Rs.)
Average price of the
dried fish/kg. (Rs.)
Lepturacanthus savala 15 80
Liza persia 50 140
Opisthopterus tardoore 40 90
Coilia dussumieri 40 95
Panna microdon 25 70
Harpadon nehereus 10 120
Sillago sihama 15 70
Corica soborna 20 110
Satipinna phasa 25 75
Arius sp 30 90
Upeneus sulphureus 20 85
Nemipterus japonicus 22 75
Chirocentrus dorab 20 80
Scomberomorus guttatus 25 90
Drepane punctata 20 80
Cynoglossus sp 15 90
Metapenaeus toluensis 20 90
Penaeus semisulcatus 10 100
Metapenaeus monoceros 15 85
(Payra et al., 2016)

17. Comparison of prices in different raw and dried fishes
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
Average price of the raw fish/kg.(Rs.)
Average price of the dried fish/kg. (Rs.)
Price/kg

18. 0
20
40
60
80
Fin-fish
Shell-fish
Average price of the
raw fish/ Kg
Average price of
the dried fish/ Kg
The raw fishes are collected mainly from the fish landing centre of
Digha mohana and Petuaghat at a comparatively low price and sold in
the market after processing at comparatively high price. The average
price of raw fin fish and shellfish is around Rs. 20/- and Rs. 10/-
respectively. The average price of dried fin fish and shell fish is around
Rs. 80/- and Rs. 60/-respectively.
Average price variation in drying

19. Order wise rate of different fishes used in sun drying
The figure shows that the Order- Aulopiforms is sold at high
price (approx. Rs. 120/-) in the market and the Order-
Siluriformes is sold at low price (approx. Rs. 70/-) in the
market.
25 30
20
50
10 12 10
90 85
70
110
120
75
65
Average price of the raw fish/kg.(Rs.) Average price of the dried fish/kg. (Rs.)

20. 74%
14%
12%
Oct-Jan
Feb-May
Jun-Sep
Due to the recent application of deep sea trawling system
by the fishermen of coastal West Bengal, a good quantity of
marine fish is available in the market. Availability of
species varies from season to season. Most variety is found
in winter season than summer season and others.
% of Seasonal Supply

21. Fisherman
Processor
Baparies
Aratdars
Paikers
Wholesalers
ExportWholecountryIndustryRetailer
Consumer
100%
100%
15%
25%
60%
5%
95%
90%
10%
15%
65%
10%
10%
(Payra et al., 2016)
Marketing Channel

22. 10
25
30
40
48 50
Fisherman Skilled
labour
Baperies Aratdar Wholesaler Retailer
Rate of dry fish Rupee/Kg
Fish rate in Marketing channel

23. Average monthly quantity
(in tonnes)
Average monthly cost (in lakhs)
Operating Cost
Raw fish 20 4.40
Salt 7 0.27
Wages for Pre drying operations
(gutting andcleaning)
20 0.20
Wages for spreading the fish 20 0.56
Total monthly operating cost 5.43
Total annual operating cost 48.86
Fixed cost
Annualised fixed cost for drying yard
materials (in lakhs)
0.04
Depreciation 0.08
Total monthly cost (in lakhs) 5.55
Total annual cost (in lakhs) 49.99
Revenue
Gross monthly output (in tonnes) 6.7
Gross monthly revenue (in lakhs) 7.11
Gross annual output (in tonnes) 60
Gross annual revenue (in lakhs) 64
Profit
Gross annual profit (in lakhs) 14.01
Profit analysis in fish drying
(Salim et
al., 2016)

24. Mode of transportation
In general the fish drying farms are located in the
coastal areas. After drying they are purchased by
Beparis and Aratdars. Here the means of transport
is either mechanized vans or small trucks. Aratdars
sale the collected dried fishes to wholesalers in the
market. Here big trucks are used for the
transportation system.

25. To improve the quality standards of dried fishes and avoid the
long term impact of human health following to be considered:
Special concerns are to be needed to maintained hygienic
condition in an around of the Khati area.
The poor infrastructure facility of the fish drying units needs scientific
and modern equipment.
The dry fish producers should keep in mind to avoid the use of different
harmful insecticides and pesticides to consider the human health impact.
Fish drying chambers should be periodically cleaned and
washed to avoid any contamination.
The road and transport facilities should improve to expedite the
transportation system.
Proper packaging is also a area to be addressed.
Recommendation

26. Several middlemen in the marketing channel of the
dried fish is the major cause of price increase, although
the producers are deprived from the actual high profit.
In order to solve this problem government intervention
towards the marketing process along with co-operative
structure where ever needed can be formed for direct
marketing and export of the dried fish from the khati.

27. The dried fishes play important role in the upliftment of
socio-economic condition of the rural area of the West
Bengal. The dry fish marketing is a profitable business for
small scale dry fish producers of the coastal area of the Bay
of Bengal. The quality of the dried product could be
improved though making awareness among the fishermen
to use high quality water and salt. The introduction of
simple dry fish equipment like- solar or artificial drier for
processing can avoid the contamination. However, special
emphasis are to be needed to prevent the use of different
harmful pesticides / insecticides during the preparation of
dry fishes through the state Government.
Conclusion

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Publishing House, Delhi, 2001, 77.
Cutting CL. Fish processing and preservation. H.S. Offset Press, Daryagunj,
New Delhi, 1996, 1-2.
Dan SS. Marine fishery of West Bengal coast. Marine Fisheries Information
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FAO. Global Aquaculture Production Statistics for the year, 2011.
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FAO. Global Aquaculture Production Statistics for the year, 2014.
www.fao.org; 2014.
FAO. The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture, 2014, 223.
Faruque MO, Nazrul KMS, Tonny US, Islam KR, Dey SC, Mona SJ et al.
Status of an ideal dry fish market of Bangladesh: A Study on
Asadganj Dry Fish Market, Chittagong. International Journal of Life
Sciences Biotechnology and Pharma Research. 2012; 1(3):214- 225.
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30. Thank you for your
patience…