Consumer behavior assessment, price variation of available fishes and market infrastructure in different fish markets of Dhaka city

Abstract

The present study was conducted to identify the existing marketing system and availability of fish species in different markets as well as to assess consumer behavior in different fish market of Dhaka city. Among the various types of fish carp, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, Oreochromis mossambicus, Lates calcarifer, Tenualosa ilisha, Mystus tengara, Heteropneustes fossilis, Pangasius pangasius were available in all fish markets whether Bagarius bagarius,Mastacembelus armatus, Channa marulius, Colisa fasciata were adventitiously found in some markets. The highest price variation (F value=13.542) was observed in case of Clarias gariepinus and the lowest price variation (F value=0.652) was observed in case of Pangasius pangasius. Market Infrastructure of Mohammadpur townhall market, Karwan Bazar, New market were found in well structured but the infrastructure of Shewrapara fish market and Swarighat were found in degraded condition while the rest of markets were in average condition. Most of the consumer in fish market emphasize on the freshness of fish rather than cost and nutritional value. Bones and smells of fish are considered as unpleasant and have a significant influence on consumer attitudes. Most of consumers in Dhaka city do not have trust in information about fish sources. Consumers do not like those fish in which it is difficult to remove bone.