PRESENT AND FUTURE MARKET TRENDS IN THE INDIAN ORNAMENTAL FISH SECTOR

Abstract

India possesses a great diversity of fishes several of which are very much suitable for ornamental purposes. However, India’s contribution to the international ornamental fish trade is negligible standing at 1.6 million US$ ranking 31st in the word (2016). Total world ornamental fish trade has been estimated to be more than US$ 15 billion with the developing nations contributing to 60% of the exports. The industry is expected to grow by 8%, with the increasing demand for ornamental fishes supported by advances in filtration, aeration and various smart accessories. Indian ornamental fish sector has tremendous scope for development, considering its wide fish resources both the freshwater and marine fish species. With this in view, the current status and challenges for the development of ornamental fish culture and probable for future trends anticipated in the sector are discussed in this article. It could be concluded that, there is scope to increase production of ornamental fish varieties, and India can emerge as one of the leaders of the world ornamental trade in coming years.