Production of cultured freshwater fish in Thailand has increased steadily over the past two decades. Freshwater fish farming is scattered throughout the country, but at present, it is concentrated more in the northern, central and eastern parts. Over 15 species are being cultured, mostly in ponds. Small-scale fish farming, relying on traditional methods for rearing fish, and integrated farming are common and widely practised. Commercial-scale farming utilizing intensive culturing methods is employed in some regions for species of relatively high value. The government has promoted freshwater fish-culture mainly to supply domestic markets. Continued increases in production have gradually led to higher prices and to rising consumption. As a result of greater demand for freshwater fish, the marketing system plays an increasingly vital role. Marketing is left almost exclusively in the hands of the private sector. The Fish Marketing Organization is a state-owned enterprise that deals with marketing fish in assembly markets in Bangkok. Recently, many private assembly markets have opened near production centres and big consumer centres, such as Bangkok and surrounding provinces, in order to serve consumer needs. Most of the existing markets have been met with good response from traders and consumers. Prices are very competitive, since large numbers of sellers and buyers are trading in assembly-markets. Fish are delivered readily to provinces far from production centres, because roads link all big cities and nearby districts. Since freshwater fish are cultured in every region, local consumers in those areas are well supplied by local production, and excess demand is met with fish from production centres. However, urban dwellers have easy access to a more consistent supply of fish and greater variety of fish products than people in areas far from fish farms and markets. Moreover, consumers in different regions have different tastes, preferences and levels of purchasing power, which affect their choice of species and the quality of fish they buy.
At present, it appears that no collusion exists among groups of traders who may want to influence the market. Some large-scale fish farmers are expanding their operations to cover marketing costs. Whether these practices will have an adverse impact on small-scale fish farmers and small traders in the future is a question that the government should pay attention to and monitor closely. In general, distribution and marketing of freshwater fish have been developed efficiently to some extent. In the near future, priority should be given to the handling of fish, although some progress has been made. However, applied knowledge of how to maintain the quality of fish is still lacking. Focus on handling fish hygienically from farm-gate to consumer must increase in order for fish to command higher prices. Improved market facilities are needed that result in a more hygienic environment, as well as other proper amenities. Waste and contamination of fish could be reduced through proper handling-techniques. Consumer awareness regarding good handling practices has to be encouraged. Therefore, it is necessary to educate farmers, processors and consumers about methods of handling aquatic products, including home processing, preparation, quality and the nutritional value of fish.
Building greater awareness of the nutritional value of freshwater fish and promoting the consumption of fish as a regular dietary staple are important steps towards further development of aquaculture and marketing of aquatic products.
The Government should encourage the development of new species of fish and new domestic markets, such as speciality markets and international markets, to stimulate additional growth of production. Furthermore, programs could be coupled with new technologies to improve high-yielding and high-valued strains of fish. New techniques need to be devised for integrating environmental concerns into management decisions.
In the future, dual-culture practices will prevail in Thailand. While large-scale commercial farming needs to be further developed, small-scale farming must not be allowed to suffer. A comparative study of these two sub-sectors is yet to be conducted. Marketing may be used as an effective tool to segregate production according to source and to sell the products in markets that serve different groups of consumers.
