A price index of farmed fish: The case of Turkish aquaculture market

Abstract This study analyzed the market price dynamics of farmed fish using a price index in Turkey. A specific “Price Index” incorporating the leading aquaculture species produced by Turkish aquaculture, has been calculated for a five-year period spanning from 2016 to 2020. The empirical analysis is based on 60-month price and quantity data of chosen aquaculture species traded in a major wholesale fish market. Calculated prize index clearly indicates the noticeable effects of unusual economic and market dynamics on farmed fish prices. The significant increase in prices of agricultural inputs including aquafeed, electricity, fuel, maintenance of materials, and maintenance of buildings, as well as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, are the major factors influencing upward changes in price index. The “Turkish Aquaculture Price Index” is a practical tool that uses numerical expressions to reflect the periodic increase or decrease in the price of the aquaculture product commodity and makes significant contributions to understanding the price patterns and factors that have a cointegrated relation with the price changes in aquaculture market.