Supply Chain Management in Fisheries: A Study in Bangalore Fish Markets

Supply Chain Management (SCM) includes the physical and money flows from producer to consumer. India produces around 7 million tonnes of fish annually.Inefficient supply chain has been the major problem facing Indian fishery industry. Bangalore, the capital city of Karnataka has five fish markets and the present study of SCM of freshwater fishes was restricted to three markets viz: Russell market,City market and Yeshwanthpur market. The objectives of the present study were to identify supply chain of freshwater fish, estimating price-spread,cost of operation of intermediaries, consumer purchasing behavior, and identifying constraints in supply chain and suggesting suitable measures.Information was collected from wholesalers, retailers and consumers through pretested interview schedules. Constraints identified in SCM were increased marketing costs,lack of storage facilities, absence of market information, inventory losses, delayed supply, poor quality, and unhygienic condition in fish markets. Important suggestions to overcome the constraints include reducing the number of intermediaries, ensuring food safety, modernizing fish selling outlets and updated market information system.