Myanmar Dried Fish Consumption Survey - Results
Myanmar Dried Fish Consumption Survey - Results
This chapter presents the result related to (1) the general information of the respondents, (2) type of fish they consumed (3) per capita consumption, (4) source of fish consumed, (5) location of purchase, (6) method of consumption, and (7) details of the consumed fish species.
General information of the respondent
This study is composed of 960 respondents from 8 different states and regions. 45.8 % of the respondents are from delta and coastal regions, 32% from the central region of Myanmar, and 22.2% of the respondents come from the hilly region (Figure-3). Specifically, in most states and regions, three to four townships were selected for interviews and eleven townships in Ayeyarwaddy.
In the DFM survey, the ethnicity of the respondents was also noted. The majority of the respondents were Burmese, followed by other ethnicities such as the Kayin tribe. As shown in figure 5, two-third of respondents were Burmese, followed by Karen (9%), Shan (7%) and 3% Mon and Pao. ‘Other’ ethnicities accounted for 11%.
Number and percentage of households consuming different types of fish in the past 7 days
As presented in figure 5, fish is the main ingredient in the daily diet of households from all the states and regions. Almost every household in the delta region (Ayeyarwady, Yangon and Bago), and Mon, which is located on the coast, consumed some forms of fish within the past 7 days of the survey. 95% to 98 % of the households in the dry zone (Mandalay and Sagaing) and Kayin also consumed some kind of fish during the 7 days before the survey. Shan North had the lowest level of fish consumption, but even there, 55 % of the households consumed at least one type of fish product in the past week.
As shown in figure 6, processed fish, as well as fresh fish products are consumed frequently. 91% to 99% of the households in Ayeyarwaddy, Bago, Kayin, Mon and Yangon consumed processed fish, which is more than in the other states and regions, followed by Mandalay and Sagaing with over 80 %, and 36% in Shan North.
Likewise, fresh fish consumption accounts for over 90% in Mon, Ayeyarwady, Bago, and Yangon, between 96% to 99% per household, Shan state has the lowest consumption of any type of fish. Generally, it is noted that the consumption of processed fish is higher than the consumption of fresh fish in all states and regions, apart from Mon State.
Thus, it can be said that the consumption of both processed and fresh fish is mainly observed in the delta and coastal areas and that the proximity to the production area determines consumer preference.
| Delta & coastal region | Central dry zone | Hilly region | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ayeyar-wady | Yangon | Bago | Mon | Sagaing | Mandalay | Kayin | Shan North | |
| Any dried fish | 57 | 73 | 73 | 77 | 40 | 74 | 77 | 18 |
| Any dried shrimp | 42 | 53 | 30 | 35 | 20 | 19 | 43 | 0 |
| Any fermented products | 90 | 91 | 95 | 89 | 84 | 66 | 87 | 6 |
| Any salted fish | 22 | 9 | 3 | 19 | 20 | 6 | 8 | 20 |
| Any smoked fish | 2 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 1 |
| Canned fish | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 21 | 2 | 19 | 7 |
| Any other fish products | 1 | 8 | 9 | 24 | 10 | 14 | 21 | 15 |
Table-2 compares the consumption of the seven categories of processed fish. It is worth noting that salted fish and any other fish products are the fourth most consumed category of processed fish. The consumption of canned fish and any smoked fish is very low compared to other categories.
It is observed that fermented products are the most consumed form of processed fish in all states and regions, apart from Mandalay and Shan State. 90%-95% of the households in the delta region (Ayeyarwaddy, Bago, and Yangon) consumed fermented fish and over 80% of the households in Kayin, Mon State and Sagaing, whereas fermented fish consumption is much lower in Mandaly (66%), with the lowest in Shan North (6%).
Dried fish is the second highest category of processed fish, comprising 70% of the household’s consumption in most states and regions, except for Ayeyarwady where it comprises half of the consumption (57%), Sagaing (40%) and Shan North (18%). Dried shrimp stands third with over 40% of the household’s consumption in Ayeyarwaddy, Kayin, and Yangon. There was no consumption of dried shrimp in Shan North.
Table 3 here
Table 3 illustrates the percentage of fresh fish consumption divided into different types and region. In general, fresh fish consumption is typically lower in Shan North compared to the other states and regions.
It is observed that 70-80% of the households in Ayeyarwady, Bago, Kayin, Sagaing and Yangon consume fresh fish (freshwater), followed by over 50 % in Mandalay and Mon State. Shan North has the lowest consumption of fresh fish (freshwater) with 35%.
Fresh fish (marine) is mainly consumed in Mon State with 61% of the households’ consumption, followed by Ayeyarwady (25%), Bago (36%), and Yangon (34%), and lowest in Kayin and Mandalay with 8%. There was no fresh fish (marine) consumption in Sagaing and Shan North.
Fresh shrimp consumption is overall lower with 33% in Yangon and 31% in Ayeyarwady, followed by Kayin with 15%, and the remaining states and regions hardly consumed fresh shrimp. It is noted that fresh fish (origin unknown) and Fresh squid, molluscs are hardly consumed in all states and regions.
Table 4 here
Overall, 90%-95% of the households in the delta region (Ayeyarwady, Bago, and Yangon) consumed some kind of fermented fish in the past 7 days, and over 80% of the households in Kayin, Mon and Sagaing. Fermented fish consumption is much lower in Mandalay (66%) and is the lowest in Shan North (6%).
Ngapi Ye, a fish paste, is the most common fermented product and is usually made by fermenting either salted fish or shrimp. Fish paste can be made either from freshwater or marine fish, whereas shrimp paste is always made with marine species.
Ngapi Ye is one of the main ingredients of the Lower Myanmar cuisine. However, it is not very popular in Upper Myanmar, for example, Shan State. Sometimes, in low-income families, Ngapi Yay, a watery preparation, forms the main dish and also the main source of protein.
As shown in table 5, shrimp and long whiskers catfish are mainly used for fermentation, compared to the other six species. It is noted that most of the species inhabit both freshwater and brackish. Unknown species accounted for 51%. There are different grades of Ngapi Ye, and it can be distinguished by the ingredients which are used to make it. Ngapi Ye can be made from whole fish, small fish, or prawns. Ngapi Ye is used as a condiment or additive in most dishes, but can also be eaten on its own.
As shown in table 4, it is observed that Ngapi Ye (freshwater), Ngapi Ye (marine), shrimp paste (medium quality), shrimp paste-other, Fish paste (whole fish, mixed species) are the most prominent products among the 11 categories.
Ngapi Ye (freshwater) is the most consumed type, followed by Ngapi Ye (marine). It is noted that 70% of the households in Bago consume freshwater Ngapi Ye, 59% in Yangon, 52% in Kayin and Mon, and 48% in Ayeyarwady, while Mandalay and Sagaing had a very low consumption. There was no consumption at all in Shan North. Ngapi Ye (marine) accounts for 22% in Mon State, 18% in Ayeyarwady, 16% in Bago, 8% in Yangon, and no consumption was found in Kayin, Mandalay, Sagaing and Shan North.
Medium quality shrimp paste is the most consumed type of shrimp pastes. It accounts for 33% in Sagaing, 20% in Mandalay, 16% in Ayeyarwady, and 14% in Kayin. Bago and Shan North have a low rate of consumption and no consumption was found in Yangon and Mon State. ‘Other type’ of shrimp paste is the second most consumed type, with 34% in Sagaing, 22% in Mandalay and less than 5% in the other states and regions.
In the fish paste category, whole fish - mixed species is the most consumed type with 25% in Kayin, 16% in Yangon, no consumption in Shan North, and the percentage of consumption in the other states and region was very low.
Table 5 here
Table 6 here
This section explores the percentage of households consuming dried fish, which is the main focus of this study. As shown in table-6, only three species were identified, and the rest of the fish were only categorized by their habitats, size and other details, which were asked during the survey. As shown in table-7, 45 species of dried fish were reported by the respondents, of which most inhabitant both freshwater and brackish. Unknown species accounted for 18%.
In general, the consumption of any type of dried fish is high in Mon (77%), Bago (73%), Kayin (77%), Mandalay (74%) and Yangon (73%), moderate in Ayeyarwady (57%) and Sagaing (40%), and low in Shan North (18%). It is observed that dried medium marine fish, dried Bombay duck, and dried snake head, which are marine and freshwater species, are consumed most.
Dried medium-sized marine fish accounts for 33% in Yangon, 10-30% in Bago, Kayin, Mon and Sagaing, while the remaining states and regions consumed less than 5% per household. As presented in table-7, Giant catfish, Chub mackerel, Pama croaker, Burmese River ilisha, Indo-Pacific king mackerel, Long whiskers catfish, Bombay Duck, and Flathead grey mullet are used the most to dry.
Dried Bombay duck was consumed in 30% of the households in Mon State, 27% in Yangon, over 10% in Kayin, Mandalay, Shan North, while the consumption in the remaining three states and regions was less than 10%.
23% of the households in Mandalay consumed dried snakehead within the 7 days before the survey, followed by 10%-20% in Bago, Ayeyarwady, Mon, Kayin and Yangon. The consumption rate of this species was the lowest in Sagaing and Shan North with 3%.
Table 7 here
Table 8 here
Overall, any kind of dried shrimp consumption is high in Yangon (53%), Kayin (43%) and Ayeyarwady (42%), moderate in Bago (30%) and Mon (35%), and low in Mandalay (19%) and Sagaing (20%), with no consumption in Shan North.
As shown in table-8, dried shrimp is classified into five different sizes. Dried shrimp (very small) is the most consumed size, while dried shrimp (medium) was moderately consumed, followed by dried shrimp powder, dried shrimp (jumbo) and dried shrimp (big) which are rarely consumed in all states and regions.
Table 9 here
Salted fish, Nga Sa Nel, is another form of processed fish. Table-9 shows that salted fish was consumed in around 10% to 20% of the households in Ayeyarwady, Mon, Saging, and Shan North. The other states and regions consumed less than 10%. Among the four types of salted fish, medium-sized freshwater is the most prominent one, followed by small-sized salted fish, and large-sized marine fish. Large salted freshwater species were rarely consumed. According to table-10, 23 species are used to be salted, of which 16 species inhabit both freshwater and brackish. Stone roller, Manipur osteobrama, Catfish, and Striped snakehead are the most common species. Unknown species accounted for 32%.
Table 10 here
Table 11 here
The consumption of smoked fish is very low in all states and regions, as shown in table-11. 12% of the household in Kayin state consumed some kind of smoked fish, and with 1%-6% of the households in the other states and regions. No consumption is found in the Sagaing region. 14 species are used to be smoked, most of them inhabit both freshwater and brackish (table-12). Striped snakehead, Blue tilapia, and Swamp barb are mostly used to be smoked.
Table 12 here
Table 13 here
Table-13 presents information on the household consumption of other fish products in the past 7 days before the survey. Four main products are identified in the other fish products category. In the Mon State, 24% of the households consumed some type of the other fish products, followed by 21% in Kayin and 10%-15% in Sagaing, Mandalay and Shan North. The consumption is lower than 10% in the remaining three states and regions. Among the four types, other fermented fish product is the most reported type, followed by Balachaung. Pickled fish is mainly found under ‘other fermented fish’. Pickled fish, Nga Chin, is a common fermented product, which is made by fermenting small fish or shrimps, mixed with rice and salt. Unlike Nga pi, it has a sour taste due to the fermentation with lactic acid bacteria. Nga Chin is mainly consumed as a side dish, prepared with onion and oil. According to table-13, it is consumed in 19% of the households in Mon State, 9% in Sagaing, and 8% in Shan North.
Per capita consumption
Figure 7 here
Regarding the daily per capita consumption of fresh fish, freshwater fish consumption is seen in all states and regions, while marine fish consumption is mainly found in delta and coastal regions. The percentages for fresh shrimp and fresh fish of unknown origin is the lowest, and their consumption is only observed in some states and regions. It is worth noting that most people know the origin of their fish, indicating that people care about what type of fish they are consuming.
According to figure 7, the daily per capita consumption of freshwater fish ranges between 50-60 kg in Ayeyarwady, Bago, Kayin, Sagaing, and Yangon. Moderate consumption with 26 kg was observed in Mon State and was the lowest in Mandalay (17kg) and Shan North (6kg). Marine fish consumption was the highest in Mon State (37 kg), which is located near the coast. The consumption was moderately high in Ayeyarwady, Bago and Yangon with 10-20 kg, and lowest in Kayin (3kg) and Mandalay (2kg). Per capita consumption of fresh shrimp accounted for 1-8 kg, whereas fresh fish of unknown origin accounts for 2-3 kg.
Figure 8 (2 graphs) here
Figure-8, extracted from table 14, shows the daily per capita consumption of four fermented product groups. The per capita consumption of Nga Pi Ye (freshwater) in the delta region was twice of the consumption in the south-east (Mon State and Kayin). Nga Pi Ye (marine) is mainly consumed in the delta region and Mon State, while it is low in the central dry zone, with no consumption in Kayin, Mandalay and Sagaing. No Nga Pi Ye consumption was found in the hilly region (Shan State). Per capita consumption of Shrimp paste is high in the central dry zone, moderate in Ayeyarwady, and low in Kayin and Bago, whereas per capita consumption of fish paste is high in Kayin, moderate in Yangon and Bago, and low in Mandaly. The per capita consumption of Ngapi Ye (freshwater) ranges between 10-14 kg, whereas the per capita consumption of Ngpi Ye (marine) ranges between 1-5 kg. Shrimp paste consumption accounts for 1-6 kg, while fish paste accounts for 1-5 kg.
Table 14 here
Table-14 shows the per capita consumption for all the different fermented products. In general, per capita consumption of different Ngapi Ye types is the highest, followed by shrimp paste, and is the lowest for fish paste. The per capita consumption of Ngapi Ye ranges between 0.1-14 kg, 0.1-6 kg for shrimp paste and between 0.09-5 kg for fish paste.
Figure 9 here
Figure-9 shows the most consumed categories. Dried Bombay duck is the most consumed fish species and can be found in most states and regions. The per capita consumption of dried Bombay duck is significantly higher in Mon with 8kg, compared to 4kg in Mandalay, Shan North and Yangon, and was with 1kg the lowest in Ayeyarwady, Bago and Kayin. Dried medium-sized marine fish is the second most consumed type and its per capita consumption ranges between 0.18 and 7kg, followed by dried snakehead with a per capita consumption ranging between 1 and 4 kg.
Table 15 here
The per capita consumption of Dried Bombay duck, dried fish of unknown origin, and dried marine fish are the highest, while dried freshwater fish, dried snakehead are only moderately consumed. Dried anchovy showed the lowest rate of consumption.
Figure 10 here
Overall, per capita consumption of dried shrimp is high in Ayeyarwady, moderate in Bago, Kayin, Mon State and Yangon, and low in Mandalay and Sagaing, with no dried shrimp consumption in Shan North. Dried shrimp (jumbo) is the most consumed size and per capita consumption ranges between 1-2 kg, followed by dried shrimp (big) with 1 kg. The per capita consumption of dried shrimp (medium) ranges between 0.1-1 kg, at 0.12 kg for dried shrimp (very small), and with 0.26kg dried shrimp powder was consumed the least.
Figure 11 here
Per capita consumption of salted fish is higher in Ayeyarwady compared to Mon State and Sagaing and is generally low in the other states and regions. Salted small freshwater fish are consumed the most and the per capita consumption ranges between 1-3kg, followed by salted large freshwater fish with a per capita consumption between 0.3-1 kg. Salted medium freshwater had the third highest per capita consumption ranging between 0.4-2kg, whereas salted large marine fish was the lowest.
Figure 12 here
Figure-12 shows that per capita consumption of smoked fish is highest in Kayin State, followed by Yangon, and has been low in the other states and regions (Ayeyarwady, Bago, Mandalay, Mon and Shan North). There was no smoked fish consumption in Sagaing. Other smoked fish is the most consuming category, ranging from 0.1 to 1 kg, followed by smoked large freshwater fish with a per capita consumption ranging between 0.03 -1 kg. The medium sized category was the lowest one.
Figure 13 here
Figure-13 summarizes all the different categories of fish described in this study. For a better understanding of the figure, it should be noted that ‘any fish’ means any kind of fish, including fresh, dried, fermented, and ‘any processed fish’ includes everything except fresh and canned fish.
The overall fish consumption is high in delta (Ayeyarwady, Bago and Yangon) and southeast regions (Mon and Kayin), accounting for around 100 kg per day, moderate in central regions (Mandaly and Sagaing), with around 70 kg, and low in the hilly region (Shan North) with 14 kg. Generally, the per capita consumption of fresh fish is higher than the consumption of processed fish, except in Mandalay and Shan North. Per capita consumption of fresh fish ranges between 70-80 kg per day in delta regions, 50-60 kg in Southeast regions, 20-50 kg in the Central dry zone, and 6kg in the hilly region.
The per capita consumption of processed fish ranges between 40-50 kg in most of the states and regions, except Sagaing with 25 kg and Shan North with 9 kg. In the category of processed fish, fermented products are consumed the most, followed by dried fish. The per capita consumption of salted fish and dried shrimp is medium and the consumption of smoked fish and other fish products’ is low.
The per capita consumption of fermented fish products is high in delta and southeast regions, where most of the villages are located near the coast, and ranges between 10-15 kg. In the central dry zone region, the per capita consumption ranges between 10-15 kg and per capita consumption is low in hilly regions with only 0.2 kg.
Per capita consumption of dried fish is significantly higher in Mandaly and Mon State, with around 20kg. The consumption ranges between 10-17 kg in delta and southeast regions and Sagaing and Shan North have the lowest per capita consumption. Overall, per capita consumption of salted fish ranges between 1-5 kg, even though consumption is slightly higher in Ayeyarwady, Sagaing and Mon.
The per capita consumption of dried shrimp ranges between 1-4 kg, with the highest amount in the delta and southeast regions, whereas no dried shrimp is consumed in Shan North. The per capita consumption of smoked fish is limited to a maximum of 1 kg, consumed mainly in Kayin and Mon State. For any other fish products, per capita consumption is below 2 kg, being the lowest in Yangon and Ayeyarwady.
Figure 14 here
Overall, in the 7 days before the survey, the fermented products were consumed the most, followed by fresh fish and dried fish, with dried shrimp being consumed the least. Salted fish was consumed by only one household and is only consumed in Ayeyarwady and Sagaing, whereas hardly any household consumed smoked fish.
In the category of processed fish, fermented products were consumed by only seven households and consumption was generally higher in delta and coastal regions, compared to the central dry zone and the hilly region, where no fermented products were consumed at all. Fresh fish was consumed on average 1-5 times in the 7 days. Similar to previous results, the consumption is higher in delta and coastal regions compared to the central and hilly regions. The frequency of dried fish consumption ranges between 1-3 times a week, whereas dried shrimp was only consumed twice, and not at all in the hilly region. The frequency of any salted fish consumption was the lowest and was only observed in Ayeyarwady and Sagaing. It is worth noting that in no state and region smoked fish was consumed in the 7 days before the survey.
Source of fish consumed
Share of households reporting consuming product, by source (sum can be different to 100% as households can obtain any category of fish from multiple sources, or cannot consume)
Table 16 here
Most of the respondents purchase some kind of fresh fish (60-80%), with own-production being slightly higher in Mon State (32%) and Ayeyarwady (54%) compared to Mandalay (3%) and Sagaging (8%). In other states and regions, the own-production rate ranges between 18-20%. Very few respondents received fresh fish as a gift (1-5%) (Table-16).
Regarding the location of purchase, fresh fish is mainly purchased from village wet markets, followed by travelling vendors, and wet markets in urban areas. It is found that buying directly from fishers is the preferred way of purchase.
Figure 15 here
Less than half of the respondents from Ayeyarwady and Bago (40%) are buying fresh fish from travelling vendors, with only 10-30% in other states and regions (figure-15).
83% of the respondents from Mon State buy fresh fish from rural wet markets, with around 50% of the respondents from Mandalay, Sagaing and Shan North. This number is lower in Ayeyarwady, Bago and Kayin.
In Mandalay and Yangon, most respondents buy fresh fish from urban wet markets, accounting for 50% and 35%, respectively, whereas the other states and regions range between 5-10%.
In all states and regions, between 5% and 20% of the respondents buy fresh fish from fishers and buying from village stores and fish wholesaler is even less common.
Table 17 here
As presented in table-17, dried fish is mainly purchased, and own-production is low. In Bago, Kayin, Mandalay, Mon State and Yangon purchasing dried fish accounts for more than 50 per cent and more than 30% in Ayeyarwady and Sagaing. Mandalay has the highest number of purchases with over 70%, while Shan North has the lowest with 16%. Only 30% or less produce their own dried fish and only in areas close to the coast, such as Ayeyarwady and Mon. Receiving dried fish as a gift is very rare (< 5%).
Figure 16 here
Purchasing dried fish from village wet markets is common in Ayeyarwady, Bago, and Mon State (figure-16). In these three regions, 84% of the respondents buy dried fish from village wet markets. In other states and regions, fewer respondents purchase dried fish from village wet markets. In the central region (Mandalay and Sagaing) it is less than 30%.
In Yangon and Mandalay, purchases from the urban market are higher than compared to anywhere else, ranging from a minimum of 15% to a maximum of 30%.
Purchases from travel vendors are around 10% and no products are purchased from travelling vendors in Mandalay and Northern Shan.
Purchases from fishers and wholesalers are almost non-existent, with only 5% in some areas.
Table 18 here
Most of the dried shrimp is purchased (50%), with only 10% producing dried shrimp at home and less than 5% receiving it as a gift (table-18). In Sagaing and Bago more than 50% of the respondents buy dried shrimp from the urban wet markets while purchases from rural wet markets were the highest in Mon State with over 80% (figure-17). Purchases from travel vendors are below 10% and direct purchases from fish wholesalers and fishermen account for just over 5%. Purchases from village stores are common in all areas, except Bago and Sagaing.
Figure 17 here
Table 19 here
Purchasing fermented products is very common (table-19). It is the highest in Sagaing with 82%, followed by Ayeyarwady, Mandalay, Yangon and Mon State (61%, 65%, 69%, 61% respectively), while it is the lowest in the Northern Shan State with 5%.
Own-production is common in Bagon (52%), but there is no own-production in the central and hilly regions. Own-production ranges between 15% to 30% in other states and regions. Fermented products are rarely received as gifts (3%).
Figure 18 here
Fermented products are mainly bought from rural wet markets, accounting for almost 90% in Mon State, which is the highest among all the states, followed by the Shan North with more than 60% (figure-18). In Bago and Ayeyarwady and Yangon rural wet markest account for around 50% while it is around 30% in the other states and regions.
Purchases from urban wet markets account for70% in Mandalay, followed by 10% - 30% in Ayeyarwady and Yangon and for 5% to 10% in Bago, Kayin, Mon and Sagaing.
It is found that 56% of the respondents in Sagaing buy fish products from villages stores, followed by 33% in Kayin and Shan North, with the lowest in Bago, Mon State and Yangon with 5%-10%. Purchases from fish wholesalers or directly from fishermen are only found in some states, with a maximum of 10%.
Table 20 here
Salted fish is mainly purchased (table-20). In Sagaing, the majority of respondents (82%) buy their salted fish. Own-production is highest in Bago with 52% and it ranges between 17 % to 30% in most of the other states and regions, with no own-production in Mandalay and Shan North. Receiving salted fish as a gift is rather uncommon (3%).
Figure 19 here
There was almost no purchase of salted fish from village stores and fish wholesalers (figure-19), while purchases from rural wet markets are very common, followed by urban wet markets and travel vendors or directly from fishers.
The majority of respondents from Shan North (95%) purchase salted fish form rural wet markets, followed by more than half of respondents in Ayeyarwady, Kayin and Mon, whereas purchasing from rural wet markets is the lowest in Yangon with 33% of respondents. Purchases from the rural wet market are not observed in Bago.
In Yangon, Bago, and Mandalay, more than half of the respondents purchase salted fish from urban wet markets (67% and 50%, respectively). In Kayin and Mon State 25% of the respondents purchase salted fish from ubran wet markets and over a third of the respondents from Sagaing. There were no purchases from urban wet markets in Ayeyarwady and Shan North.
Purchasing salted fish from travelling vendors is most common in Bago with 50%, followed by 25% in Ayeyarwady. Respondents from other states and regions are not purchasing salted fish from travelling vendors. Buying salted fish from fishers is not very common in most of the states and regions, except in Ayeyarwady and Sagaing, accounting for 13 % and 18%.
Table 21 here
The purchases and own-production of smoked fish are generally low in most of the states and regions, accounting for only 1-7% (table 21). Respondents buy smoked fish mainly from rural and urban wet markets, followed by purchases directly from fishers (figure 20). Village stores are the least common location of purchase.
Figure 20 here
Table 22 here
Purchasing rates of any other fish products ranged from 1% to 17% and own-productions ranged between 1% and 10% (table-22). Receiving any other fish products as a gift is negligible. Other fish products are mainly purchased from rural and urban wet markets, followed by village stores (figure 21). In Ayeyarwady, Mon State and Shan North, the majority of respondents purchase any other fish products from rural wet markets, whereas respondents from Yangon, Mandalay and Sagaing prefer urban wet markets. Village stores are the third most common location for purchases, especially in Bago with 60% of the respondents. Purchases from travelling vendors and fisher are less common (below 10%).
Figure 21 here
Table 23 here
Overall, processed fish is mainly purchased rather than own-produced (table-23). Purchases of any kind of processed fish were the highest in Yangon with 94%, followed by Mandalay and Sagaing with over 80%. In Ayeyarwady, Bago, Kayin and Mon State over 70% of respondents purchased processed fish and it was the lowest in Shan North with 38%. Similar to previous results, own-production of any processed fish is the highest in Bago with 65%. In regions located nearby rivers and sea (Ayeyarwady, Kayin, Mon State, and Yangon) the production was on average 40%, whereas it was the lowest in the central dry zone and hilly regions. Receiving any processed fish as a gift is not very common, accounting for around 10%.
Figure 22 here
Rural wet markets are the most common location to purchase any processed fish, except for the central dry zone region (figure-22). Urban wet markets are the second most common location followed by village stores. The percentages for the other three locations are negligible.
In Mon State, 83% of the respondents prefer to buy any processed fish from rural wet markets, 65% in Shan North. In Ayeyarwady and Bago, less than half of the respondents buy processed fish from rural wet markets, while in Yangon and Mandalay over a third of the respondents go to rural wet markets and 25% in Kayin.
Urban wet markets are more popular among respondents living in Mandalay and Yangon, with 65% and 37%, respectively. They are also popular in Ayeyarwady and Kyain, whereas less so in other states and regions. Purchases from urban wet markets are the lowest in Shan North with 8%.
Between 1% and 15% of the respondents buy processed fish from travelling vendors, whereas between 1% to 10% of the respondents buy it from fish wholesalers. Processed fish is rarely purchased from fishers (below 10%).
Table 24 here
Overall, in most states and regions, respondents are mainly buying any kind of fish, except for Shan North with only 50% (table-24). Apart from the delta and southeast regions, own-production is low as is receiving any fish as a gift.
Figure 23 here
The most preferred location to purchase any kind of fish are rural wet markets, except in Mandalay, followed by urban wet markets (figure 23). Travelling vendors and village stores are the third most common purchasing place, whereas purchases from fish wholesalers and fishers are less common.
Respondents from Mon State and Shan North prefer to purchase any kind of fish from rural wet markets, as do respondents from Ayeyarwady, Mandalay, Bago, Yangon, and Sagaing, while it is not very common in Kayin (23.6%).
Respondents who are living near big cities like Yangon and Mandalay are more likely to go to urban wet markets than rural wet markets and 59% of the respondents from Mandalay go to urban wet markets. In other states and regions, urban wet markets are not as popular as rural wet markets, with only 7% in Mon State.
More than a quarter of the respondents from Ayeyarwady and Bago purchases any kind of fish from travelling vendors and around 10% in Yangon and Kay. In Mon State, Sagaing, and Shan North less than 10% purchases fish from travelling vendors, with not purchases at all Mandalay.
In Sagaing, 32% of the respondents buy fish village stores, followed by over 20% in Kayin. The purchasing rate from village stores is over 10% in Shan North and Bago and below 5% in the remaining states and regions.
Purchases from fishers and fish wholesalers are low (maximum 10%), with no purchases at all in Mon State, Mandalay and Shan North.
