Himachal Pradesh University’s Agro-Economic Research Centre’s research on fish farms in Kullu, Mandi, Shimla and Kinnaur districts said that lack of a proper market, transportation and market intelligence are major issues hampering private sector farming of two exotic species – the rainbow and brown trout – in Himachal Pradesh.
Researchers Ranveer Singh, Meenakshi Sharma and Pratap SingIn said that cities like Delhi and Kolkata, there is a robust demand for trout, but poor marketing is a big hindrance.
Himachal Pradesh is the country’s main producer of trout in the private sector, but farmers are forced to dispose of the fish at throwaway prices in the state. ‘In Delhi, the trout sells between Rs.350 and Rs.400 kg, but within Himachal, a farmer gets around Rs.200 a kg,’ the research study said. State Govt. has assures for the all possible help but farmers are waiting for the day when their promise will develop into the reality.
