A new study has revealed interesting insights into the consumption of fish and related dietary trends in India. The results show a marked increase in fish consumption in recent years, with certain inland areas also contributing to the surge. The study is titled 'Fish Consumption In India: Patterns And Trends'. It was conducted by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, Government of India and WorldFish India. The timeframe for the study was the years 2005-2006 to 2019-2021. The authors attribute the "significant growth in fish consumption in India" to "population growth, increased wealth and shifting consumption patterns."
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Highlights Of 'Fish Consumption In India: Patterns And Trends' (2024)
One of the key takeaways of the study is that the proportion of Indians eating fish increased from 730.6 million (66%) to 966.9 million (72.1%), which is an increase of approximately 32%. In 2019-2020, 5.95% of people consumed fish daily, 34.8% did so at least once a week and 31.35% only occasionally, as per the study. Tripura had the highest proportion of fish consumers (99.35%) while Haryana had the lowest (20.55%).
The report found that Kerala and Goa had the highest percentage of daily fish consumers. Photo Credit: iStock
The eastern and northeastern states, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Goa had the highest fish-eating populations (more than 90%). In contrast, northern states such as Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan had the lowest (less than 30%). However, it is important to note that the northernmost state of the country, Jammu and Kashmir, was the one that reflected the highest increase (20.9 percentage points) in people eating fish. The report also found that Kerala and Goa had the highest percentage of daily fish consumers.
Furthermore, the study found that women had a lower fish consumption rate than men. The proportion of the population consuming fish at least once a week was higher in urban areas than in rural areas.
Despite the overall increase in fish consumption, "fish lagged behind other non-vegetarian foods as the favourite food among both urban and rural populations," the authors stated. The researchers used data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), among other sources. You can read the full report here.
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