An Economic Study of Marketing the Most Important Fish Species in the Arab Republic of Egypt

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Minia University, Egypt.

Abstract

This research generally aims to study the marketing conditions of fish in the Arab Republic of Egypt. More specifically, it seeks to identify the marketing channels and price variations for each of the producer, wholesaler, and retailer of the main fish species (Tilapia – Mullet – Catfish). The results showed that the average annual fish production reached approximately 1,379 thousand tons during the study period, while the available quantity for consumption amounted to around 1,623 thousand tons. This resulted in a local fish supply gap of about 244 thousand tons in Egypt during the period (2000–2023).The study also examined the average distribution of the consumer's pound among the producer, wholesaler, and retailer during the study period. It was found that the marketing margin between the wholesaler and producer was approximately EGP 1.74 for Tilapia, about EGP 5.28 for Mullet, and around EGP 5.22 for Catfish on average during the period. This was followed by the marketing margin between the retailer and wholesaler, which amounted to EGP 3.48 for Tilapia, about EGP 4.37 for Mullet, and around EGP 2.08 for Catfish. The highest marketing margin was between the retailer and producer, reaching about EGP 5.28 for Tilapia, EGP 5.22 for Mullet, and around EGP 2.85 for Catfish during the average period (2000–2023). The main recommendations included the need to develop and improve the efficiency of natural fisheries, remove obstacles, silt, and aquatic weeds, as well as the importance of providing and increasing the number of fish hatcheries, especially near natural fisheries.

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