The study was conducted to determine the cost, return and relative profitability of

pond fish production of Mymensingh and Jessore districts. A total of 75 ponds were

selected on the basis of purposive random sampling technique from 7 villages under 2

Upazila (Trishal and Gouripur) of Mymensingh districts and 8 villages under 4

Upazila (Monimmpur, Jhikorgacha, Chowgacha and Sadar) of Jessore district. It was

found that per hectare per year gross cost of pond fish production in Mymensingh and

Jessore were Tk 333457.75 and Tk 54327.74, while gross return were Tk 434131.16 and

Tk. 96640.00 and net return were Tk 100673.41 and Tk. 42312.26, respectively. The

findings of this study revealed that the pond fish production in Jessore district was

more profitable than that of Mymensingh district. Cobb-Douglas production function

was applied to realize the specific effect of the factors on pond fish production. Out of

six variables included in the function three variables had positive impact on return

from pond fish production, in Mymensingh district but five variables had positive

impact on return from pond fish production in Jessore distric

Al-Imran, M.

Alam, Jahangir

Saha, Nirmal Chandra

Shahidul Islam, M.

Aquatic Commons

Bangladesh]. Fish. Res.,8(2), 2004: 151-156 ©JBFRI 
Comparative economic analysis of pond fish production tn 
Mymensingh and J essore Districts, Bangladesh 
Ni:rmal Chandra Saha*,Jahangir Alam1,M. Al-Imran2 and M. Shahidul Islam 
Banglade.sh Fisheries Research Institute, Myrnensingh 2201, Bangladesh 
1Bangladesg Agricultural Research Council, Dhaka 
2Department of Agricultural Economics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh 
*Corresponding author 
Abstract 
The study was conducted to determine the cost, return and relative profitability of 
pond fish production of Mymensingh and Jessore districts. A total of 75 ponds were 
selected on the basis of purposive random sampling technique from 7 villages under 2 
Upazila (Trishal and Gou.ripur) of Mymensingh districts and 8 villages under 4 
Upazila (Monimmpu.r, Jhikorgacha, Chowgacha and Sadar) of Jessore district. It was 
found that per hectare per year gross cost of pond fish production in Mymensingh and 
Jessore were Tk 333457.75 and Tk 54327.74, while gross return were Tk 434131.16 and 
Tk. 96640.00 and net return were Tk 100673.41 and Tk. 42312.26, respectively. The 
findings of this study revealed that the pond fish production in Jessore district was 
more profitable than that of Mymensingh district. Cobb-Douglas production function 
was applied to realize the specific effect of the factors on pond fish production. Om of 
six variables included in the function three variables had positive impact on return 
from pond fish production, in Mymensingh district but five variables had positive 
impact on return from pond fish production in Jessore district. 
Key words: Fish culture, Cost and return, Cob-Duglas production function 
Introduction 
Bangladesh is a developing country with a vast water resource. Fishery has been making 
special contribution to the economy of Bangladesh. It plays a vital role in the alleviation 
of poverty in Bangladesh. It meets up the nutritional requirement of the people, creates 
employment opportunity and earns foreign exchange for the country. Most of the people 
in this country depend on fish as main source of animal protein. It has been estimated 
that about 1.3 million people are directly employed in this sector. Another 1.2 minion 
people indirectly earn their livelihood from fisheries related activities. Frozen shrimp, 
fish and fishery products occupy the third position in the· country's exports ( 4.76% of 
total foreign exchange earning). In 2001-2002, fisheries sector contributed 5.24 percent 
to the total GDP of the country (DoF 2003). The country's total production of fish was 
1890459 tones in 2001-2002 of which 1475039 tones were from inland sources and 
N.C. Saha et. a!. 
415420 tones from the marine sources. The growth rate of the production during the last 
decade, on average, was 7.20 percent per year. 
In Bangladesh, increased aquaculture production, mainly pond fish production can 
help to meet the increased domestic demand for fish (2.075 million tones; (FFYP 1997-
2002). In order to meet the shortage of fish, the Department of Fisheries (DoF) and 
some Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) are encouraging people to increase fish 
production in their surrounding water areas (pond, haor, baor, bee] etc.). In response to 
government's initiative for augmenting fish production in the country, people have 
started to be occupied in different types of fish production activities. The two important 
activities are rising for fingerlings and production of table fish using different types of 
technologies popularized by various government and non-government agencies. 
The main purpose of the present study was to generate information regarding the 
comparative profitability of pond fish production in different areas. It was also 
interesting to look at the efficiency of input use in the production process. 
Materials and methods 
The study was carried out from July'03 to June'04 in seven villages at Mymensingh 
district and eight villages at Jessore district. A set of interview schedules were pre-tested 
and developed. Data were collected from 7 villages under two Upazila (Trishal and 
Gouripur) of Mymensingh district and 8 villages under four Upazila (Monirumpur, 
Jhikorgacha, Chowgacha and Sadar) of Jessore district. A total of 150 producers were 
selected from the study areas on the basis of purposive random sampling technique. A 
simple tabular method was followed to illustrate the whole picture of a01alysis. The sum, 
mean, percentage, ratio, etc. were the simple statistical measures employed to show the 
comparative performance of pond fish. Relative profitability of pond fish and production 
was determined on the basis of net return analysis. 
Functional analysis 
To find the effects of variable inputs both linear and Cobb-Douglas production 
function models were estimated initially. Data were converted to per farm basis to 
·facilitate the analysis. The results of the Cobb-Douglas models appeared to be superior 
on theoretical and econometric grounds. So, the Cobb-Douglas model was accepted for 
interpretation. Six independent variables were employed to explain the gross returns 
from pond fish production in Mymensingh and J essore districts. Regression analysis 
(ordinary least squares) method was used to determine the effect of these inputs. A series 
of regression procedures were carried out to be sure that serious multicollinearity 
problem did not exist. The function was specified as: 
Y _aX blx bzx b3x b4x bsx b6eui 
-12 3 4 56 
The function was linearised by transforming it into the following double log or log 
linear form: 
152 
Comparative economic analysis of pond fish production 
Where, 
Y = Gross return from fish/fingerlings production (Tk), X1 = fingerlings cost (Tk), X2 
= Fertilizer cost (Tk), X3 =Lime cost, X4 = Feed cost per farm, X5 = Poison cost per 
farm, X6 = Labour cost (Tk), In = Natural logarithm, a = Intercept, bi = Production 
coefficients, and U = Error term. 
Few important variables hke pond keeping, pond area, number of ponds, duration of 
water etc., which might affect pond fish production could not be included in the model 
due to non-availability of appropriate data for the modeL 
Results and discussion 
Costs and returns 
Among the different cost items, cost of feed appeared to be the highest and 
represented 68.70 percent of total cost of pond fish production in Mymensingh district. 
In Jessore district the cost of fingerlings was highest and represented 22.72 percent of 
the total cost of production. The average per hectare gross cost per year amounted to Tk. 
333457.75 and Tk. 54327.74 for pond fish production in Mymensingh and Jessore 
districts, respectively (Table 1). Gross returns from pond fish production of 
Mymensingh and Jessore districts amounted to Tk. 434131.16 and Tk. 96640.00, 
respectively. The net returns from pond fish production in Mymensingh and Jessore 
were computed at Tk. 100673.30 and Tk. 42312.26 per hectare, respectively. The benefit 
cost ratio (BCR undiscounted) of pond fish production in Mymensingh and Jessore were 
1.30 and 1.78, respectively. It indicates that the production of fish in pond was more 
profitable in Jessore than in Mymensingh. Ahmed (2003) studied yield the gap, 
production loss and profitability of pond fish culture in N etrokona district. He observed 
that the gross cost was Tk. 77496.00, gross return was Tk. 233250.00 and net return was 
Tk. 155754.00 per hactare of pond fish production. Haque (2000) conducted a 
comparative economic analysis of pond fish production in Pabna district. He found the 
gross cost of Tk. 65917.52, gross return of Tk. 91706.61 and net return of Tk. 25789.09 
from the same study. Islam (2000) studied fish farmers and fishermen and gender role in 
fisheries development in Mymensingh, Tangail, Chandpur, Cox's Bazar and Khulna 
districts. He found that BFRI contract farmers gross cost was Tk. 9758.00 and gross 
return was Tk. 20247.00 and net return was Tk. 10489.00 per hectare from fish 
production. Sultana (2001) studied the adoption of BFRI evolved polyculture and carp 
nursery technologies in Mymensingh district. She found that the gross cost was Tk. 
70953.00, gross return was Tk. 120974.00 and net return was Tk. 50021.00 from per 
hectare of pond fish production. Results of the present study were comparable to those 
studies. 
153 
N.C. Saba er. a!. 
Table l. Per hectare annual cost and return from pond fish production 
Items Mymensingh I Percent Jessore I Percent 
Cost of Fingerlings (Tk) 49,lll.41 14.73 12,342.22 22.72 
Fertilizer Cost (Tk) 1,827.19 0.55 3,091.73 5.69 
Lime cost (Tk) 1,386.64 0.42 1,401.78 2.58 
Feed cost (Tk) 229,098.60 68.70 10,638.22 19.58 
Poision cost (Tk) 455.29 0.14 624.00 1.15 
Labour cost (Tk) 1,5874.73 4.76 7,457.33 13.73 
Total variable cost (Tk) 297,753.86 89.29 35,555.28 65.45 
I merest on Operating 20,842.77 6.25 2,488.87 4.58 
capital (Tk) 
Land Use cost l4,86l.l2 4.46 16,283.58 29.97 
Total Fixed cost (Tk) 35,703.89 10.71 18,772.45 34.55 
Gross cost (Tk) 333,457.75 100.00 54,327.74 100.00 
Gross Return (Tk) 434,131.16 96,640.00 
Net Return (Tk.) 100,673.41 42,312.26 
Gross Margin (Tk.) 136,377.30 61,084.71 
BCR 1.30 1.78 
Source: Field Survey 2003-04 
Factors affecting pond fish production 
The effect of the various inputs used in the process of fish production was analyzed. 
Inputs used in production was classified broadly into material inputs (fingerlings, feed, 
lime and fertilizer, etc.) and labour. Furthermore, there were some inherent 
characteristics of pond environment and factors that could affect its production such as 
pond area, be employed to explain the variation in output of ponds. Accordingly, some 
crucial inputs were identified and included in the model to explain the variation of 
productivity of fish in ponds. 
Interpretation of results 
Estimated values of coefficients and related stansucs of the Cobb-Douglas 
production function for pond fish production are given in Table 2. The function fined 
weU for pond fish production of Mymensingh and Jessore districts as indicated by F-
values and R2• The coefficients of multiple determination, R2 were 0.885 for 
Mymensingh and 0.912 for Jessore district. It indicated that the variables included in the 
model succeeded in explaining about 88.50 %and 91.20% of the total variations in the 
value of pond fish production of Mymensingh and Jessore districts, respectively. The F-
values were highly significant at 1% levels implying that all the included explanatory 
variables was important for explaining the variations in pond fish production. The sum 
of aU the production coefficients (production elasticity) of the equations for pond fish 
production were 0.57 and 0.965 indicating that the production function exhibited 
154 
Comparative economic analysis of pond fish production 
increasing returns to scale for pond fish production of Mymensingh and J essore 
districts, respectively. 
Interpretation ofCoeflicients for Individual Variables 
The regression coefficients of feed cost was positive and significant at l% level of 
significance, which indicated that l percent increase in feed cost, keeping other factors 
constant, would increase gross return 0.466 percent in the Mymensingh districts but in 
Jessore district fingerlings and feed cost were positive and significant at l% level of 
significance, which indicated that l percent increase in cost of fingerlings and feed cost, 
keeping other factors at their same level, would increase the gross return 0.719 and 0.104 
percent, respectively. The coefficients of fertilizer cost, lime cost and poison cost were 
negative and insignificant at Mymensingh district and lime cost at Jessore district was 
negative and insignificant, which indicated the over use of these inputs. Cost of 
fingerlings and labour cost were positive and had no significant impact on pond fish 
production of Mymensingh and cost of fertilizer, poison and labour cost were positive 
and had no significant impact on pond fish production of J essore district. 
Table 2. Estimated values of coefficient and related statistics of Cobb-Dauglas production function 
model 
Explanatory variables Mymensingh 
Intercept 5.56 
Cost of fingerlings (X1) 0.154 
(0.121) 
Feni.lizer cost(X2) - 0.016 
(0.028) 
Lime cost(X3) - 0.0354 
(0.065) 
Feed cost (X4) 0.466* 
(0.069) 
Poison cost (X5) -0.0009 
(0.025) 
Labour cost (X6) 0.0115 
(0.082) 
Rz 0.885 
F value 87.103* 
Returns to scale ( 2,b.) 0.58 
Note: Ftgures m the parentheses mdtcate standard error 
*Significant at 1% level 
Conclusions 
Jessore 
2.45 
0.719* 
(0.15) 
0.047 
(0.099) 
- 0.034 
(0.051) 
0.104* 
(0.026) 
0.021 
(0.016) 
0.108 
(0.174) 
0.912 
117.328* 
0.965 
The production of fish in ponds was higher in Mymensingh than in Jessore. The 
cost was significantly lower (Table l) in Jessore district than Mymensingh district. The 
cost of fish production was minimum but the net return was maximum in Jessore than 
155 
N.C. Saha et. al. 
Mymensingh. The study reveals that the Benefit-cost ratio was higher in Jessore than in 
Mymensingh. In the functional analysis, it was found that the some of factors of fish 
production (fingerlings, fertilizer, feed, poison and labour) were positive in Jessore 
district, where as three factors (fingerlings, feed and labour) were positive in 
Mymensingh district. The results of the study indicate that the pond fish production can 
be increased and made more profitable by efficient reallocation resources in the 
production process. 
Acknowledgement 
The present study was carried out under financial support by the Ministry of Science and 
Information & Communication Technology, GOB. 
References 
Ahmed, M.U., 2003. An economic study of yield gaps, production losses and profitability of pond 
fish culture under different types of management in some selected areas of Netrokona 
District. M.S. Thesis, Department of Agricultural Economics, Bangladesh Agricultural 
University, Mymensingh. 
Do F. 2003. Fish Fortnight Compendium 2003. Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries and 
Livestock, Dhaka. 
FFYP. 1998. The Fifth Five Year Plan (1997-2002). Planning Commission, Ministry of Planning, 
Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh, Dhaka. 
Haque, M.M., 2000. A comparative economics analysis of pond fish production and fish nursery 
operation in some selected areas of Pabna District. M.S. Thesis, Department of Agricultural 
Economics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh. 
Islam M.S., 2000. Socioeconomic profile of fish farmers and fishermen and gender role in fisheries 
development, Consultancy Report. Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, Mymensingh, 
Bangladesh. 
Sultana, S., 2001. Socio-economic impact of the adoption of BFRI evolved polyculture and carp 
nursery technologies in some selected areas of Trishal Upazila in Mymensingh District. M.S. 
Thesis, Department of Agricultural Economics, Bangladesh Agricultural University, 
Mymensingh. 
(Manuscript received 5 September 2004) 
156 


Comparative economic analysis of pond fish production in

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