Via Knowledge Problem and Cold Spring Shops, comes a WaPo article describing how India's sardine fishermen are using cell phones to find the best prices for their catch. Middlemen are not pleased:
the dealers don't necessarily like the new balance of power, but they are paying better prices
Depending on the structure of this market, these higher prices to fishermen -- yielding at least one case of a tripling of income for a boat operator -- should induce them to fish a little more, or induce others to enter the market, and this will have a further "ripple effect" on the Sardine market -- an increase in aggregate supply, yielding lower prices to end consumers.
As much as the middlemen don't like the new balance of power, presumably the sardines like it even less -- especially if short-run supply can be expanded past the sustainable possibility-frontier into over-fishing.
Does anybody have an idea where one can get reliable information about prices and quantites for these markets?
Related:
1) Video of netting sardines on a beach in Goa.
2) AN OVERVIEW OF SARDINES AND ANCHOVIES FISHERY ALONG
THE INDIAN COASTS
Well, I'm not very interested in the business with sardines and their prices, but in the fact that they are very tasty and I extremely adore them!!! hehehe:)
Your headline, "Middlemen, Sardines Hardest Hit", is perfect.