It is possibly the most famous export of the State after football. Consumed everyday with relish along with rice, the price and quality of fish available in the local market is a source of much interest. The price of onion can drop a govt in Maharashtra and in Goa, the increasing cost of fish and the deterioration of quality can make the chair of relevant ministers quite wobbly.
The recent controversy over the discovery of chemicals ie Formalin being used to keep fish fresh raised a hailstorm. The import of fish from various states were banned and inspection of fish coming in was carried out with some enthusiasm. But in all this the love and appetite for fish remained strong as ever. In this day and age of the ever-expanding reach of digital technology it is possible to reach one’s target audience anywhere without being physically present.
Apps are now being created to target audiences to sell products and services every day. From buying books, music and movie DVD’s to ordering a taxi, it can be all done online via an app. There fore it should not surprise anyone when enterprising young men and women in the stare decided the time was ripe to sell fish via an app.
John Desa recently launched ‘Fresh Lo’ an app which would help consumers buy directly from the fisherman, bypassing the middleman. He also launched La Socorina, a Goan fish shop at Porvorim. This is part of a major initiative by Desa to bring fresh fish sans chemicals directly to the paying customer.
Desa said “I am part of a fishing family. We had trawlers but had to give them up due to issues with manpower. Since last year we have been trying to find a suitable location. Took this place on rent in Porvorim and opened it after the monsoons.”
He decided to develop an app after realising that substantial percentage of the residents in Porvorim were elderly and would not wake up early and would like to enjoy their lives. They wake up possibly around 8 or 9 am and then at 10 decide which fish they would like to have for lunch. 10 am is not the right time to go to the fish market. This app will show them what we have in the store and they can book it. They can give us a time slot and we can deliver it to their residence. This will be within 5 kms of Porvorim mostly in the North. Sorry not in Panjim as yet. We also have the option to pre order”.
They also had the option to provide fish to the restaurants and hotels and he admitted the margins would be less. The minimum order the company accepted was Rs 500. The business-based app he said was on his radar. The ‘Fresh Lo’ app has fishermen uploading details of their catch as well as the price for the day and anyone could negotiate and buy the fish without going through a dealer. These were all sellers and till date they had tied up with 20 fishermen who would upload details of their catch everyday.
Desa said “People have to go the Carazalem beach for example and pick up the fish if the fisherman is based there. It is fresh fish and no chemicals are used. This app is not just for fish but for any produce or product. It is like a Goan version of OLX.”
To help fishermen get on to the app, the company was encouraging them to buy smart phones and were talking to their sons or daughters to push their fathers to buy one if they were reluctant to do so.
Carol Mascarenhas runs a similar service in the south. She sends whatsapp messages to a group or calls up people in Chandor and areas around it. With around 20-30 people buying fish every day, she ensures that various kinds of fish are purchased.
Mascarenhas said “Trawlers come to port three times in a day, midnight, early morning or in the afternoon. We know how much we have to buy everyday and we like to sell it all the same day. Initially demand fluctuated but now it is even. We buy at the most 5 kgs of a fish and sell it the same day. The fish we sell is Formalin free and with regards to price it was cheaper than the regular mode of buying fish she said there could be a difference of Rs 20-50 per kg on a day.
This issue of price is very sensitive because these apps are effectively bypassing the system that has been in place for years. The fish would usually come and brokers or agents who conduct a spot auction and buy the entire stock which could mean 500 kgs or one tonne on the dock would buy it and then move it through their distribution system.
The point of the price to be quoted for a kilo of squid or pomfret can be very sensitive and when someone new comes who may upend the system there is usually much anger and rage.
Mascarenhas said there was much discussion but no one spoke to her directly because the price she was selling at was considerably cheaper than the usual rate.
Another fisherman from Vasco had developed an app a couple of years ago but was driven to shut it down after the trade warned of serious consequences. He did not want his name to be mentioned claiming it was like a bad dream and he had moved on from it.
Perhaps it makes sense to target an audience not really keen on dirtying one’s hands whilst buying fish. Siddhi Shantanu Bhonsle launched Freshfishbasket which is aimed at the elite section of society.
Bhonsle said “Our prices are slightly higher than the regular market rate but we guarantee good quality fish that came in the same day. We deliver free and we clean the fish if necessary. We guarantee a good product. In a day we sometimes get 5 orders and on occasions even 10.”
The company keeps 2 or 3 kilos of fish because these cannot be kept for a long time. The company does not get calls but messages through the server. Bhonsle calls the clients and if it is a new client then it would be to ascertain the address as well as the scale of purchase. “On an average the minimum order can be anywhere from Rs 800 to a little bit over a thousand”.
The business is sensitive and dependent on factors that may not be in control of the people on land or even the fisherman. The cost of fish changes everyday depending on the price fixed by the broker. Now the app od digital based player has come into the market. Time will tell if this is trend towards the future.
