Access to safe fish is now a much-discussed issue. Large carp farmed commercially in the Rajshahi region are now sold alive at fish wholesale markets in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country, giving ordinary buyers the chance to buy live, formalin-free fish.

Farmers get about Tk 100 a kg more for live fish than for iced fish sent to market. Each truck can carry 500 to 600 kg of live fish, and the water has to be changed once or twice during the journey to keep the fish alive and the water in good condition.

At present these live fish are carried from Rajshahi to Dhaka for a truck fare of Tk 15,000 to 16,000. On this basis, if live transport costs Tk 60 a kg, the farmer still gets about Tk 40 a kg more. If specially equipped fish-carrying trucks for live fish could be introduced or developed, farmers would benefit even more financially.

Source: Staff Correspondent. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.