Soon, shop for a fine kettle of fish at an outlet nearby

KOCHI: Good price and growing demand for all kinds of fish seem to have a compelling effect on the seafood companies to set up niche retail outlets.
Close on the heels of the Kerala State Coastal Area Development Corporation opening stalls for value-added fish by women, leading exporter Abad Fisheries is planning to establish a chain of outlets for fish.
Abad Fisheries, which is a major player in the seafood export business, has rolled out its first outlet in Kochi that sells frozen, live and ready-to-cook fish. "It is a new concept in India. We are looking at a pan-India network possibility on a franchisee basis," said Faraz Javeed, director of Abad Fisheries.

The stall, branded `Wild Fish', sells live fish and crabs that are kept in large tanks. Besides sea and river fish, it offers fish that are not quite popular in the local market but are considered tasty . This includes fish with strange names like leather jacket, cycle chain, green job and butter fish.

Recently , state-run Kerala State Coastal Area Development Corporation opened a stall selling value-added fish products in Kochi with plans to extend it to other parts of Kerala and other states in future. Branded `Fish Maid', it sells a range of 18 fish products including fish nuggets, sandwich, burgers and spring rolls.

A majority of the Indian market consumes low-value fish. The trend is changing in the metros and tier-2 cities. "The Indian market is growing at the rate of 20% annually . The negative perception to frozen food, unlike in the western countries, is gradually changing in the cities," said AJ Tharakan, president of Seafood Exporters' Association of India and chairman of Amalgam Group, which was the first seafood exporter to tap the local market with premium frozen fish products.

The total fish landings in the country are estimated to be around 3.78 million tonne while the total seafood exported is below one million tonne. Out of the exports, the share of farmed fish, particularly shrimp, is growing annually . Fish that fetch premium price in the global market like shrimp, squid, tilapia, cobia and pomfret are finding good demand in India too.