Since a good proportion of the population is self-sufficient, particularly in regard to food the role of marketing is relatively less significant in China. Production quotas are generally decided upon the basis of market demands. In the case of suburban communes, the magnitude, as well as the schedule of production, is determined on the basis of daily and seasonal requirements of the cities. To minimize transport problems, fish farms are located near consuming centres: where possible.
At the provincial, district and county level there is a fishery products corporation, but at commune level there is a commercial unit or marketing centre which serves each production unit. The centre has the responsibilities of buying the agreed quota of the produce, transporting it to markets, and supplying the necessary fishing gear and other farming inputs. Each year the production and commercial units concerned discuss and decide on the plans for marketing that year. The commercial units schedule marketing in such a way as to maintain steady supplies to the markets served by them from one or more production units. Members of commercial units work very closely with the production units and often those responsible for marketing may go and work with the masses in the communes or production brigades to understand their problems and to gain the necessary knowledge of field conditions for appropriate market planning.
Most of the fish produced by culture are sold in the live or fresh state. For transporting fish alive on land, canvas tanks mounted on trucks are used. In Shunde County in Guangdong Province, the study group saw the use of large boats with holds for live fish. The hull has holes on the sides for exchange of small quantities of water. Fish are sorted according to species and size and held in the holds alive. About 1 500 kg of live fish are transported every day, of which about one third is taken to a border port near Hong Kong, from where traders buy and transfer them to larger boats for transport to Hong Kong. Live fish fetch a 30-60 percent or even 100 percent higher prices and so often a commercial unit may request the producers to hold the fish in ponds on payment of agreed charges, either to regulate supplies or to meet increased demands during festivals, etc.
Fig. 27 Fish transported alive in the farm in canvas containers after capture
Fig. 28 Boats with live holds for transporting fish alive in Shunde County in Guangdong Province
Fig. 29 Fish being transferred from live hold in a boat for sale in Shunde County
The buying and selling prices of fish are fixed by the state. When a commercial unit or fish marketing company or corporation, as in the case of certain cities, enters into a contract with a production unit to purchase a given quantity of fish, the agreed price is assured. Thus stability of price is maintained.
The provision for payment of premium price as a special incentive for increased production of agricultural crops applies to a limited extent to fish also. In some areas like Shanghai and Wuxi, where there is a greater demand for fish, the state would pay higher prices for fish produced in excess of the agreed quota. But in Hengyang, if the production exceeds the agreed quota, they are given a bonus in the form of chemical fertilizers.
Fish are harvested on demand or held in special market ponds alive and delivered at agreed delivery points. In cases where fish cannot be delivered alive, dead fish may be sent on ice. Cold storages are only seldom used, and only for short periods when the weather does not permit storage of live fish.
The margin of profit taken by the sellers to cover the overhead expenses is low, as can be seen from the following data obtained in Hengyang.
Table 7 Price of Fish in Hengyang 1978 (in Yuan per jin)
|
Fish |
Price paid to Production Units |
Price at which sold to Consumers |
Margin of Profit of Commercial Units |
|
|
|
|
(%) |
|
Grass carp and crucian carp |
0.42 |
0.48 |
12.5 |
|
Big head |
0.33 |
0.40 |
17.5 |
|
Silver carp |
0.31 |
0.37 |
16.2 |
|
White croaker |
0.33 |
0.40 |
17.5 |
The price of fish is not the same in all markets. In cities and industrial areas, they tend to be higher than in the rural areas, as can be seen from the following information obtained by the group:
Table 8 Price of Fish in some City Markets 1978 (in Yuan per jin)
|
Fish |
Guangzhou (Shunde County) Suburban Market |
Shanghai City Market |
|
Grass carp |
0.50 |
0.98 |
|
Black carp |
0.48 |
0.68 |
|
Silver carp |
0.45 |
0.66 |
There are considerable regional differences in fish consumption within the country. Generally speaking, more fish is consumed in the south than in the north. It is reported that people in Shanxi Province do not eat fish.
