Myanmar’s fish and fisheries products are consumed by 70% of the country’s population. Aquatic product exports were ranked third in the fiscal year 2020-2021.
ShwePadauk fish market in Yangon Region’s Hlaing Township sells and distributes fresh and saltwater fish, accounting for 70% of total sales in the country. According to the market in-charge, saltwater fishing goods mostly originate from Rakhine and Mon States, as well as Ayeyawady and Taninthayi Regions, while farmed fish from Yangon, Ayeyawady, and Bago Regions flow into the market as freshwater fish.
In-charge (Shwepadauk & ThiriMingala Markets), Wai Lin, said “Mandalay, Myikyina, Shan, and Rakhine states, as well as the Ayeyawady and Taninthayi districts, are all served by us. Our primary export destinations are China and Bangladesh. China mostly purchases Hilsa fish, whereas Bangladesh gets rohu and carp fish. In addition to Yangon market, the fish scrap meats are delivered to rural markets.”
There are 444 businesses and 120 vendor stalls in the market. The aquatic items are distributed on a daily basis to the mountainous regions, border areas, and Myanmar’s higher regions.
Nwe Ni Khine, the seller, stated “Fish is consumed more frequently than other meats by consumers. The selling of rohu outperforms that of other fish. The sales of fish are not consistent; they are good at times and terrible at others.”
The average daily sales volume of saltwater and freshwater fisheries items was over 400,000 visses before COVID-19, but it is currently expected to be around 300,000 visses.
Maung Naing described himself as a dealer “We provide a wide range of fish and prawns. Daily sales go from 20,000 to 30,000 visses. We distribute nearly 70% of all fish and fish products in the United States. The bran is used to feed the fish. The price of fish feed has risen, yet the price of fish has remained same. Breeders have a terrible time.”
The fish market in ShwePadauk is open everyday from 4 a.m. to 7 p.m. Over 160 million USD was gained through the export of marine goods from Kawthaung to Ranong in the last six months.