Unravelling Supply Chain Networks of Fisheries in India: The Transformation of Retail

This book on the fisheries sector in India, through primary surveys as well as secondary literature, brings out various nuances of the sector and its trade opportunities, the complexities surrounding the supply chain of fish, as well as the evolution of its marketing channels.

A distinctive feature of this book is that it carries out a comprehensive mapping of the fisheries supply chain, by taking into account both marine and freshwater fish. It identifies various players, especially traders who take part in the product flow, irrespective of the impact each of them has on the value provided to the end customer. While members of the supply chain include all individuals or organisations between whom interaction takes place, directly or indirectly from the point of production to consumption, this study also distinguishes between primary and peripheral members to make a complex network more manageable. Moreover, the book provides a comprehensive analysis of the emerging marketing channels- both organised and unorganised- in this highly perishable food segment. It provides important insights into the current scenario, focusing on the emergence of newer forms of marketing such as multinationals and e-retailing, while highlighting how traditional forms such as ’mom-and-pop’ shops have continued to sustain, despite the challenges they face. The findings from India are also compared to global experiences of other fish producing and exporting countries such as Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Thailand to offer a comparison of the differences and similarities in the supply chains of various countries.

The book provides important takeaways for researchers and PhD scholars working in the area of fisheries as well as supply chains. Since this book is based on field visits to different parts of the country it brings out the ground realities along with interesting insights and important policy implications for the sector, and should, therefore, appeal to policymakers as well.

Meenakshi Rajeev is currently the Reserve Bank of India Chair Professor at the Institute for Social and Economic Change. She graduated from IIT Kanpur in Statistics and did her PhD in Mathematical Economics from the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata. She has worked as a faculty/taught at the University of California at San Diego, Central Michigan University, USA, Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Kolkata, and Presidency College, Kolkata. Her areas of research include game theory, banking and credit market, industrial economics, and development economics. She has published more than 100 articles in reputed journals and as working papers from India and abroad. Her recent books Emerging Issues in Economic Development (with Sugata Marjit) and Financial Access of the Urban Poor in India: A Story of Exclusion are worth mentioning. She is co- Managing Editor for Springer published Journal of Social and Economic Development and is on the editorial board of other international journals.

Supriya Bhandarkar is currently a PhD scholar at the Centre for Economic Studies and Policy, Institute for Social and Economic Change. She graduated from Mount Carmel College with a gold medal in Economics. Her area of research interest is industrial economics and international trade.