Disaggregated projections on fish supply, demand and trade for developing Asia

Abstract

Quantitative modelling of supply, demand, and trade for fish becomes very useful for evaluating development strategies and options if done for disaggregated fish types, production categories, and regions. With detailed analysis, one can identify priorities in terms of technologies for dissemination, research problems to address, regions on which to focus investments, and fish groups that contribute most to food security of the poor. Recently, a quantitative tool called the AsiaFish model (Dey et al. 2005a) has been developed for this purpose. This model is currently being applied to nine major fish-producing countries in Asia, namely Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. This paper presents in summary form the method of, and results from, applying the AsiaFish model to the selected countries.