COVID-19 Impact on the Ornamental Fish Market and Marketing Channel in Katabon, Dhaka, Bangladesh | ||||
| Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries | ||||
| Article 58, Volume 28, Issue 2, March and April 2024, Page 945-961 PDF (908.15 K) | ||||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/ejabf.2024.351931 | ||||
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| Author | ||||
| Md. Fakhrul Islam et al. | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| The burgeoning aquarium fish industry in Bangladesh has been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the wholesale and retail Katabon aquarium fish market in Dhaka before (January to March 2020) and during (April 2020 to August 2020) the COVID period. A total of 69 aquarium stakeholders were selected before the COVID-19 outbreak, and 36 were selected during it. Both open-ended and closed-ended questionnaires were prepared and physically administered to the stakeholders to gather data on aquarium species sales, prices, availability, demand, and marketing channels. Compared to the period before the pandemic, daily sales dropped by wholesalers, retailers, importers, and hatchery owners by 44, 52, 80, and 42.2%, respectively. Additionally, the prices of different fish species increased during the COVID period compared to prior. The COVID-19 pandemic reduced the number of species in all aquarium stores by 2.4 to 37.9%. Before the COVID period, the most demanded species were goldfish (50%), guppy (20%), fighter fish (17%), and angelfish (13%), while during the COVID period, it shifted to goldfish (80%), guppy (10%), fighter fish (5%), and angelfish (5%). Furthermore, aquarium fish imports fell from 30 to 2%, while local sources, particularly hatchery owners, increased from 70 to 98%. The number of aquarium stakeholders declined during the COVID era due to lockdowns (70%), fish shortages (15%), low customer demand (5%), and high prices (10%). Transportation costs rose by 6.25– 33.33% compared to pre-COVID levels. The marketing channel was shorter during the COVID-19 period compared to that recorded before COVID, with roles such as commission agent and farmer lack involvement. Aquarium stakeholders' market shares fluctuated both during and before the COVID period. This study highlighted the vulnerability of the aquarium fish market during the COVID-19 outbreak | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| COVID-19; Price; Aquarium fish; Value chain; Stakeholder | ||||
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