Marketing Practices of Commercially Available Fish Feeds

Main principle of this report is to analysis Marketing practices of commercially available fish feeds in Bangladesh, here focus on Unique Hatchery and Feeds Limited. Other discussion are to examine the profitability of fish feed production and identify the marketing system, distributor handling of fish feeds, here also estimate marketing costs and margins of fish feed distributors. Finally find out the problem of distributor handling in Unique Hatchery & feeds LTD and give some Guidelines to the policy maker to improve the distributor handling, marketing practices.

Concept of Fish Feed

Like other animals, fish requires some organic materials obtained in the food as respiratory substrate to provide the energy for maintenance of bodily function and activity, and then remaining dietary input to be utilized for growth. These dietary materials are lipids, proteins and carbohydrates and are used as metabolic fuels by fish. It is evident that for the proper nourishment of fish a balanced diet containing energy sources- with all essential fatty acids, protein- with all essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals are essential. In Bangladesh, the biomass of natural annual fish production cannot meet the increasing demand of the human population and there is resulting pressure on aquaculture to enhance the production into a higher biomass of fish. This can only be done by nourishing the fish properly with supplementary balanced diets prepared from different ingredients.

In an intensive or even semi-intensive culture system, higher stocking densities of the fish population are maintained. Natural food being inadequate to support higher densities of population, it becomes imperative to supply artificial feed for optimum growth and prevention of nutritional diseases. One of the most essential and major operational inputs in successful aquaculture is the fish feed. Up to 60% of the operational expenditure may be required as feed costs in these culture systems.

Often the success of fish farming depends to a very large extent on the provision of adequate quantities of nutritionally suitable feeds in a form in which fish can utilize. Even in types of aquaculture where the main source of nutrition is natural food, produced by fertilization or other means, supplemental feeding with artificial feeds is necessary to obtain increased production. The natural food available in the water is not sufficient to maximize growth and production of fish. Shortage of natural food in the pond still remains even after application of fertilizers which affects normal growth. Therefore, supplemental feeding is necessary to increase the per unit area production. While the availability of suitable feed is important in obtaining growth, survival and production of adult fish, it is also crucially important in the rearing of  larvae and fry. The absence of adequate artificial feeds for these early stages of fish is a major handicap to aquaculture development. At present aqua culturists have to depend largely on artificial fish feeds. The success of intensive and semi-intensive fish culture depends to a large extent on the application of suitable feeds. Fish feeds provide nutrients for optimum fish growth and bring higher economic return to farmers.

With the increasing demand for fish in Bangladesh and the decline in capture fisheries production, aquaculture in Bangladesh is heading towards intensification .This shift from low density to high density culture i.e. traditional to semi intensive or intensive culture. Semi intensive or intensive culture is consequently leading to an unprecedented rise in the demand for feeds more than that of fertilizers. In traditional fish culture, farmers stock their ponds but usually do not use any supplemental feed. With increasing demand and market value, farmers are now beginning to use supplementary feeding to increase the production of cultured fish.

This demonstrates a real possibility of increasing production and reveals the potential importance of aqua feeds in Bangladesh. Now aquaculture feeds have been considered a major sub sector of the feed milling industry. Nowadays, the production of fish feed is the fastest growing feed market in Bangladesh.

Importance of Fish Feed

Fish feed plays an important role in the development of fisheries sector and thereby it contributes a lot in the national economy of Bangladesh. As fish feed is the key input having strong influence on the productivity of fisheries, balanced fish feed with superior quality is essential for the successful farm operation. The most significant constraint in the development of fisheries sector is the acute shortage of balanced fish feed.

There are three major advantages in using artificial feeds for intensive aquaculture purposes. These are: (i) uniformity with regard to quality; (ii) nutrient balance for maximum growth effects; (iii) adequate and easy application. As compound feeds are formulated according to precise nutrient specifications, product quality is uniform and assured even when there is a need for the manufacturer to make ingredient substitutions to overcome temporary shortages of certain ingredients. On the other hand, natural food supplies tend to vary in nutrient composition depending upon factors such as stage of maturity of plant and animal organisms that constitute these supplies.

Against rapid population increase without concomitant increase in fish production, the per capita consumption of fish has dropped. As a principal source of animal protein, fish production has to be increased manifold to meet the requirement in Bangladesh. In order to achieve the targeted production of 26.42 lakhs tonne (FFYP, 1997), production has to be increased by nearly 17%. Scientific opinion is that fish production as high as 3,700-4,500 kg/ha could be obtained by using semi-intensive polyculture in ponds with supplementary feeding. This demonstrates a real possibility of increasing production and reveals the potential importance of aqua feeds in Bangladesh. Recently some shrimp farmers began to use supplementary or complete feeds for shrimp culture, which increased production from 600-800 kg/ha to 2000-3000 kg/ha (Zaher and Mazid, 1993).

Contribution of Feed to Aquaculture

The use of feed is increasing with the expansion of aquaculture in Bangladesh. Nursery farmers use rice bran and mustard oil cake for carps and the total costs of feeding are about Tk. 20496-40992/ha, 10-20% of the total production cost of Tk. 204960-211440/ha. In polyculture, farmers use a mixture of rice bran and mustard oil cake,. The total production cost is Tk. 109980/ha and the total cost of feeding is Tk. 30600/ha (28%). Semi-intensive culture of tilapia and silver carps with supplementary feed, composed of rice bran and mustard oil cake, has a total production cost of Tk. 186900/ha, while cost of feeding is Tk. 91440 (49%) resulting in an increase in production from 560 kg/ha/yr to 1,300 kg/ha/yr. Some shrimp farmers use complete pelleted shrimp feeds priced at Tk. 42/kg. Their total cost of feeding is Tk. 36600/ha, 39% of the total production cost of Tk. 94440/ha (De silva, 1993). Feeding increases the yield from 1,200-1,600 kg/ha to 3,700-4,500 kg/ha (Zaher and Mazid, 1993). Farmers shift gradually from no feed, through the use of farm-made feeds, to factory-made feeds.

Forms of Fish Feed

There are two forms of commercially processed fish feed. Such as dry pelleted feeds and moist pelleted feeds.

Dry Pelleted Feeds

Production of dry sinking-type pelleted feed appears more practical for feed manufacturers. Apart from nutritional consideration, dry pelleted feeds have certain advantages conducive to their use in intensive aquaculture. These include:

(i) Ready availability. Except for the production of extruded floating-type feed, the technology for large-scale manufacture of dry pellets exists in most developing countries. Feed mills equipped for manufacturing pelleted poultry feed can also produce sinking-type dry pelleted fish feed with minor modification to the equipment.

(ii) Long shelf-life. Because the product is dry, it has a fairly long shelf-life. Dry pelleted feed has a shelf-life of at least two months under good storage conditions in the tropics; and

(iii) Easy application. Dry feed is easy to dispense. Control of feeding can also be easily exercised to ensure adequate feeding and minimum feed wastage.

One major disadvantage of dry pelleted fish feed is their apparent high cost .Such products are usually made from “conventional” ingredients which have competitive use in the manufacture of feed for livestock. However, as good quality compound feeds are usually more efficient, they may be more cost effective than traditional type feeds.

While dry, pelleted aquaculture diets have gained wide acceptance in western industrialized countries, they have been introduced only recently in developing country like Bangladesh.

Moist Pelleted Feeds

Traditional feeds for aquaculture have high moisture content. Examples are single-ingredient feeds such as trash fish (whole or cut-up) for carnivores, and crop and vegetable wastes for herbivores. More recent acceptance of the balanced-diet concept gave rise to more complex feeds consisting of two or more main ingredient components together with vitamin and mineral supplements. While feeds with high moisture content are generally more readily accepted by fish, compound feeds of this kind have low water stability. These feeds also lack the commercial attributes of dry diets, such as ease of handling and long shelf-life.

Despite their widespread use in aquaculture, there is still no commercial production of moist fish feeds. Technical problems associated with handling and storage of the final product are the most difficult to overcome. A successful product ready for immediate use will have to be stored in rigid containers. Due to their high moisture content, moist feeds undergo rapid spoilage during storage unless the moisture content is at or below a permissible level. As processing cost for the manufacture of moist feeds are lower than for dry feed, moist feeds are regaining popularity among aqua culturists.

Fish feed Manufacturing Industry

The artificial (compound) fish feed industry come into existence to supply the feed needed by fish farmers and to control the quality of fish feed in terms of uniformity, nutrient composition and use convenience (Chong,1993). Considering the specific nutritional requirements of the particular cultivated species, the artificial feeds need to be formulated and prepared by scientifically applying proper processing techniques. For this purpose fish feed manufacturing mills has been established. A nutritionally balanced diet digested and metabolized more efficiently for biomass production whereas, a poor quality feed may cause a problem for fish growth and water quality .As they build up toxic ammonia, nitrite, hydrogen sulfide, etc which cause diseases to fish.

Fish feed mills generally denominate their product as complete feed or “ready fish feed”. According to the Association of American Feed Control Officials the term “Complete fish feed” can be defined as a nutritionally adequate feed for fish; by specific formula, compounded to be fed as the sole ration and is capable of maintaining life and/or promoting production without any additional substance, except water, being consumed (Anomymous,1996).

Though Bangladesh has vast water bodies suitable for aquaculture, fish and shrimp culture is still traditional in nature. Intensive aquaculture is not yet practiced and semi-intensive aquaculture is a recent trend. Thus the demand for compounded complete and supplementary feeds is low, being only 150000-160000 tonne year. Moreover, farmers make their own aqua feeds on-farm. Because of low demand, the fish feed industry is less developed in Bangladesh. There exists a small number of quality fish feed farms in Bangladesh that produce mainly pellet diets for different types of fish. The main reason behind this is the scarcity of quality fish meal which is the major ingredient of the fish feed. As a result the fish feed firms’ authority has to import good quality fish meal from abroad for producing the fish feed. However, several large fish feed firms in Bangladesh produce quality (acceptable grade) fish feed, shrimp feed, special shrimp feed, and feed Specially for farming catfish- Pangasias, Clarius, etc. Both shrimp and fish feeds are produced by the company in dry pelleted form. Among the farms the Saudi-Bangla Fish Feed Ltd, Bhaluka, Mymensingh; Pragati Fish Feed Ltd, Khulna; Unique Hatchery and  Feeds  are notable. At present at least there are 35 commercial fish feed industries in Bangladesh.

Importance of the Fish feed Manufacturing Industry

Fish Feed mills provide an important linkage between fish feed producers and feed using farms. They are engaged in production of feed for the fish farms. Feed is one of the major inputs in aquaculture and often the success of fish farming depends to a very large extent on the provision of adequate quantities of nutritionally suitable feeds. The most significant constraint in the development of fisheries sector is the acute shortage of balanced fish feed (Akiyama, 1992).

There is a scope to meet the shortage of fish feed through the establishment of fish feed mills. The farmers have not adequate technical knowledge and mechanical devices to prepare balanced fish feed for their fisheries at farm level. The fish feed mills are specialized in such kind of job,They have adequate capital, modern mixing plants, and well equipped laboratories, technical and skilled personnel to perform these works. Moreover, fish feed mills not only use modern hardware and specialized people but also import technology related to production, grain handling, storage, fish feed formulation etc. So, the fish feed mill improves the efficiency and digestibility of fish feed through scientific formulation, processing and helps efficient use of scarce fish feed resources.

Rapid urbanization, population growth, increased income etc. would lead to higher demand for fish and fish products in the future. The capability to meet that demand in an efficient and balanced way will greatly depend on the ability of fish feed mill. This can only be done through the establishment of well equipped fish feed mills. In Bangladesh fish feed mill is an important backward linkage industry to meet up the demand for fish feed, as well as increasing demand for fish as sources of nutrient.

Availability of Feed Ingredients in Bangladesh

Since the demand for suitable fish feeds is increasing day by day with the gradual intensification of aquaculture practices, a nationwide survey was conducted by the Fisheries Research Institute to identify potential fish feed ingredients based on their availability, price and primary nutritional value. Eighty- three different types of ingredients, both of plant and animal origin, were studied. The survey covered both traditional ingredients and non-conventional items, such as kitchen wastes, slaughterhouse wastes, processed wastes from the food industry, aquatic weeds, etc., which are not being properly utilized. Most of these conventional and non-conventional ingredients are abundantly available in Bangladesh at an affordable price for making good quality fish feeds.

As Bangladesh is mainly agro-based, a large variety of agricultural wastes and by­products such as pulse brans, oil seeds and oil cakes, and molasses are being used as fish feeds. In addition, the country has a vast water area supporting huge quantities of aquatic plants and weeds. Aquatic plants, like water hyacinth, duckweed, water velvet, etc., have been tried as fish feed ingredients. Feed ingredients of animal origin, like fish meal, are used as sources of animal protein in aqua feeds. Others, including poultry by-products, slaughterhouse wastes, blood meal, bone meal, etc., have been evaluated for their possible use. Even in small amounts, they may greatly improve the nutritional value of the entire diet.

Rice bran is extensively used for feeding fish, being the cheapest and most commonly available feed ingredient. Wheat bran is also used in feed formulation. Mustard oil cake and sesame oil cake are sufficiently available year-round, throughout the country, to be used in fish, poultry and livestock feeds, either individually and in combinations with other ingredients.

Collection of Major Raw Material Used in Fish Feed Mills of Bangladesh

A good number of raw materials are used in fish feed preparation as ingredients in fish feed mills of Bangladesh. Most of them are agricultural products, agricultural byproducts from feed processing industries. The choice of raw materials mainly depends on following criteria:

i. Nutrient contains of the raw materials

ii Availability of the raw materials

iii. Price of the raw materials

iv. Limitation of its use

The major ingredients for manufacturing the compound shrimp and fish feeds of fish feed mills are imported. Some minor ingredients, like growth promoting substances (di-calcium phosphate, di-sodium phosphate, etc.), fungicides, and binders, are also imported from Singapore, Taiwan , Thailand and China. The ingredients used for (complete) shrimp feeds include fish meal; shrimp shell meal, soybean meal, wheat flour, di-calcium phosphate, and vitamin/ mineral premix. In (supplementary) fish feed formulae, the raw materials that are commonly used by the feed mills of the Bangladesh are dry Fish and fish meal , trash fish, soybean full fat) wheat flour yeast meal, oilcake (sesame/ coconut), squid liver polish, wheat middlings, binder, mould inhibitor, vitamin/ mineral premix, di-cal Phosphate, salt (Nacl), shark /hilsa fish oil, magnesium chloride, , squid Oil, soybean oil, meats and bone meal(FRI,2005).

For collecting raw materials, all the fish feed mills used almost a same process. Every fish feed mill had its enlisted suppliers. Normally fish feed mills invited tender from their enlisted suppliers to supply raw materials. Quality and other attributes of raw materials were specified in the quotation.

The suppliers with the lowest bid normally got the supply order. The successful supplier then collected raw materials from his convenient sources and supplied  those to the fish feed mills. Normally tenders were invited three to four times in a year. The personnel of quality control department of feed mills checked the quality of the supplied raw materials. In case of some raw materials like medicines and some chemical which were expensive but required in small amount, the feed mills collected them directly from their producers.

Major Types of Fish Feed Produced by the Fish Feed Mills of Bangladesh

Almost all the fish feed mills of Bangladesh manufacture six major types of fish feed. Such as shrimp feed, prawn feed, catfish (Pangas) feed, carp fish feed, tilapia feed and koi feed. The feeds are prepared in such formulation that contains required proportion of different nutrient element (protein, lipid, carbohydrate, vitamins, minerals etc) .Special ingredients are added to attract the fish to ingest the feed and to increase the appetite .The pellet size is carefully maintained for different size of fish of their different stages of life cycle. Special ingredients are also added to increase the water stability.

RATIONALE OF THE STUDY

The scope of analysis for this report will be confined within the strategic issues of the Fish Industry only. The Fisheries Research Institute, The Directorate of Fisheries, the Bangladesh Agricultural University and various non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) have been working to increase aquaculture in Bangladesh. Farmers, hatchery and farm owners are now more aware of the need to use fish feed to increase production.  Recently, pond fish culture has increased tremendously. Many ponds are now under improved aquaculture practice, with supervision of above mentioned organizations. Farmers are now becoming more interested in carp polyculture, fish seed production and cat fish culture. Trends in applying fish feeds in pond culture, especially in carp polyculture and fish seed production ,are encouraging. The use of fish feeds in pond aquaculture has increased from 5-10% to 15-20%. (DoF, 2005)

Due to increasing demand for fish feeds, investors have now taken keen interest in establishment of new fish feed mills. To have clear understanding about a potential industry, especially its marketing strategy, and distributor handling, the present study is a modest attempt to examine the present status of fish feeds production and marketing in Bangladesh. The study in fact has been chosen on the following ground;

Firstly, though feed processing is an important agribusiness sector of the country, neither economic nor market oriented study has so far been conducted in this sector. On this ground, this study play a vital role in the development of fish feed mill of the country.

Secondly, the study would be able to examine the profitability of fish feed production.

Thirdly, the study would able to identify the marketing system, distributor handling of fish feeds.

Fourthly, the study would be able to estimate marketing costs and margins of fish feed distributors.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The growth potential of the Fish feed Industry is very good in Bangladesh. In spite of the existence of the high growth potential, to be one of the largest industries in Bangladesh, a lot of strategic initiatives are yet to be taken for the industry. The broad objective of this report is to analyze the current situation of the industry in terms of strategic position and moves. This broad objective can be subdivided into specific ones, which would be covered in this report, are as follows:

• to the generic process flow for the enterprise would be derived through the identification of different actors of the enterprise, their operation, linkages and interdependencies.

• to find out the problem of distributor handling in Unique Hatchery & feeds LTD.

• to give some Guidelines to the policy maker to improve the distributor handling, marketing practices in Unique Hatchery & feeds LTD.

METHODOLOGY OF STUDY

As this study only intends to cover the present situation regarding the knowledge and practices within the Fisheries industry as a whole and key players of industry surrounding issues like external environment, internal environment, key generic strategies, driving forces etc., the research has been a cross-sectional one which is exploratory in nature.

The research encompassed qualitative study both at primary and secondary level of the research. In depth interviews I conducted on some of the Fish feed consultants to get a broader picture of the industry.

The major source for the Secondary Study has been internet, text books, business Journals, and brochures of enterprises within the industry.

THEORETICAL DISCUSSION

BACK GROUND OF THE COMPANY:

Started in 1976, enterprenured by Mr. Mostafa Kamal, MEGHNA GROUP OF INDUSTRIES is one of the largest and very fast growing industrial conglomerates in Bangladesh. Meghna Group of Industries produces most essential food and beverage for human and animal consumption, construction material, packing materials and electric power in its plants located at Meghna Ghat, Sonargaon, Narayangonj. The group has about 6000 permanent employees and around 2000 casual labour force. Its annual turnover is approximately TK.2,000.00 crores (around US$ 300.00 Millions) and thus contributed much to the industrialization and development of the socio-economic condition of the country in terms of reducing unemployment, saving valuable foreign currency and reducing import dependencies and earning foreign currencies through exports of its products . For the uncompromising product quality and strong management policy most of the industrial units of the Meghna Group has been awarded ISO9001; 2000 certification. The group has been awarded the Nawab Sir Salimullah Gold Medal presented by the Honorable President of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh for its magnificent performance in the industrialization of the country and also awarded the International Star Award for Quality (ISAQ) in Gold Category by BID (Business Initiative Directions) in Geneva on October 10, 2005 for commitment.

Meghna Group of Industries is entirely a customer focused company and has set a new standard since its emergence. It promises to deliver:  Purity Quality Safety Freshness to its consumers at all times. Its brand name, FRESH  under which most of its products are available in the market, denotes the promises rightly to the consumers. The FRESH brand assures to deliver with  superior taste  enhanced health and wellness benefits.

MGI brings few products in the name of Super FRESH which gives more of the direct understanding of the refining process. MGI has few other brands in its portfolio – Pure, Super Pure and Golap. The Products & Services of MGI are

FRESH brand

• Full Cream Milk Powder
• Sugar
• Atta-Maida-Suzi
• Tea
• Spices
• Salt
• Mustard Oil
• Cement
• Poultry & Fish Feed

Super FRESH brand

• Natural Drinking Water
• Soybean Oil

Others

• SUPER PURE Vegetable Oil
• Paper
• Woven PP Bags
• Power Plant
• Dockyard
• Steel Drums
• Real Estate
• Chemical
• Condensed Milk
• Soymeal & Rapeseed Cake

Services

• CNG Refueling & Conversion
• Printing & Packaging
• Shipping
• General Insurance
• Stock Securities
• Logistic Support

Group Enterprises

1. Kamal Trading Co. Ltd.
2. Bagdad Vegetable Oil Industries Ltd.
3. Meghna Dairy & Food Products Ltd.
4. Mercantile Shipping Lines Ltd.
5. Meghna Flour & Dal Mills Ltd.
6. Meghna Tea Company
7. Meghna Coconut & Mustard Oil Mills Ltd.
8. M.M. Printing & Packging Company Ltd.
9. G.Shipping Lines Ltd.
10. United Fibre Industries Ltd.
11. United Feeds Ltd.
12. United Edible Oils Ltd.
13. United Mineral Water & Pet Industries Ltd.
14. Unique Cement Industries Ltd.
15. Unique Power Plant Ltd.
16. United Sugar Mills Ltd.
17. Tanveer Oil’s Ltd.
18. Tanveer Food Ltd.
19. Tanveer Polymer Industries Ltd.
20. Sonargaon Salt Industries Ltd.
21. Tanveer Steel Mills Ltd.
22. Tanveer Paper Mills Ltd.
23. Janata Flour & Dal Mills Ltd.
24. Meghna Properties Ltd.
25. Everest CNG Refueling & Conversion Ltd.
26. Everest Power Generation Co. Ltd.
27. Meghna Shipbuilders & Dockyard Ltd.

Unique Hatchery & Feeds Limited.

OPERATION IN BANGLADESH:

Unique Hatchery & Feeds Limited has divided the whole Bangladesh into 11 regions. There are four sales depots into the specified region. No. of Feed Mills two.  Production Capacity in Commercial Feed Mill Around 3,000ton/month & 7 ton/ hour.

MARKET PROFILE:

• Total Investment: Tk 100 million.
• Fixed Asset: Tk 400 million.
• Market Growth Rate: 10%.
• Market share: 5 % (2010) in fish feed sector. .
• Market Demand: 40000 tones fish feed in a month.

COMPANY’S MISSION, VISION, STRATEGY & DICISION MAKING PROCESS:

Mission

The mission of the UHFL is “To Produce best quality fish feed of the country, compatible with International standards”. The future of fish industry in Bangladesh is promising and dynamic. Foreign companies are setting up and expanding operation here. Competition is becoming harder. Only the fittest will survive. Procedures must focus on quality and productivity. UHFL has prepared for the future by building world class facilities and mastering new technologies.

• UHFL is committed to the well-being, proper handling and human slaughter of all the fry which we manage internally, or produce for sale to the fish industry worldwide.
• This has been a long-standing commitment, and will continue to be a focal point for our future.
• We pledge our diligence in leading the industry not only in the pursuit of new and improved genetics and technology, but also to lead in enhancing animal well-being.
• This is not only the right thing to do, but it is an important obligation we owe to our customers.

Vision

The vision of the UHFL is “To be one of the best managed commercial organizations in Bangladesh in terms of quality, technology, innovation, operational excellence and growth. To produce fish and shrimp feed the highest international standards”.

• UHFL are devoted to build a regulated, environment friendly and world class leading agribusiness enterprise.
• UHFL believe, as a leading agribusiness enterprise in Bangladesh will become a major player in the world.
• UHFL are committed to create distinctive values for all stakeholders including employees, suppliers, clients, debt holders, shareholders and communities.
• UHFL share the opportunities both in Bangladesh growing economy and society and seek to achieve profitable and sustainable growth.

UHFL strengthen our market position and develop momentum by building solid domestic and international partnerships.

UHFL’s Values

At UHFL, we adhere to our basic values: to be positive, normative and innovative, which guide us to believe in our culture.

In this cultural system, UHFL is like a family where we are treated with warm and broad hearts; a school where we are devoted to studying and promoting our skills; and an army where we strictly follow the disciplines to ensure the healthy order of business management.

UHFL’s Targets

We create and deliver solutions to help customers meet their goals. We provide value through products, services and innovation. We measure success by consistent growth, commitment to our customers, society, a rewarding employee experience and financial benefits to our shareholders.

Corporate Strategies

• Quality and Customer acceptance– Achieve business vision through quality and customer acceptance by providing quality full day-old chicks.
• Good manufacturing practice- Strictly maintained GMP (Good Manufacturing practice).
• Compliance-With regulatory requirements, corporate quality requirements and other applicable standards.
• Added Value- Through continuous improvements and error-prevention to benefit customers and company.
• Dedicated Human Resources- Develop a pool, of dedicated human resources through regular training.

Quality Statement

Quality is at the heart of everything we do- from the discovery of the module, through product development, manufacture, supply and sale- and is vital to all the service that supports our business performance.

 Commitment

• To produce high quality product.
• Delivering competitive business advantage.

Responsibility

• The health and safety of employees, contractors, visitors.
• The protection of the environment and our communities.
• Compliance with laws and UHFL standards.

UHFL Decision making process:

In the UHFL, decisions come from top level management. Decision making process is following:

Farmers and agents give the order the head officer based on their sell. They give their order one week before then top management level make a schedule for a week. And send the quantity demand to the production department. Production department produces product based on schedule and sell it to the agents.

UHFL Functional Departments

UHFL comprises of seven major departments. They are as follows:

• Sales & Marketing
• Finance
• Human Resource
• Technical
• Production
• Customer Care

Each department at UHFL operates in different aspects but they are inter-related and complement each other. The main functions of these departments are shown below:

Marketing

• Designing and implementing sales strategies.
• Controlling and updating distribution network.
• Designing and carrying out promotional programs.
• Providing marketing information services.
• Carrying out different awareness programs.
• Keeping records of data regarding marketing activities.
• Building up public communication network.
• Conducting marketing surveys as needed.

Finance

• Controlling the accounts
• Completing the annual budgets.
• Allocating all kinds of payments to the staffs and managers.
• Looking after all the revenues and expenses.
• Conducting internal audits.
• Keeping records through IT.
• Facilitating local production cost.

Human Resources

• Recruiting and training the best pool of employees needed for the company.
• Managing smooth workflow in the organization.
• Managing demands of the labors in the factory.
• Allocating annual holidays.
• Arranging for employees motivational programs.
• Looking after the wage structure and waivers.

Technical

• Producing precise amounts of products as per the year plan.
• Ensuring total quality management.
• Following good manufacturing practice.
• Implementing raw material management.
• Procuring and allocating assets efficiently.
• Prioritizing best possible observations over the produced goods.

Production

• High Quality
• Maximum volume of production
• Follow TQM in the production

Consumer Care

• Making sales planning.
• Arrange agent conference.
• Spot meeting.
• Problem solution of agents or farmer.
• Market Survey.
• Arrange training program.

Administration

• Create good officer environment
• Store the all information.
• Evaluation of departmental performance.
• Generate plan.
• Organize official meeting.

Products and services

• UHFL has been engaged in agribusiness for 5 years. We are one of the  largest  fish feed  producer in Bangladesh with annual production capacity of 48 thousand tons.
• UHFL is an important platform for promoting the development of Bangladesh agribusiness industry.

• UHFL is one of the earliest and most successful private investors in the financial service. We also hold the trust companies, insurance companies and equity of listed companies

Types of UHFL product:

Nature of Fresh fish feed:

It also a quality feed. It contains moisture, crude protein, crude ash, crude fiber, fat, calcium, phosphorus, sltt, methionine. It has also various types.

• Nursery fish
  • -starter 1 fish
  • -starter 2 fish
  • -grower fish
  • -finisher feed
• Nursery tilapia
• Starter tilapia
• Grower tilapia
• Nursery Koi fish
• Starter koi fish
• Grower Koi fish
• Nursery Pangas Gold feed
• Starter Pangas Gold feed
• Grower Pangas Gold Feed
• Unique Pangas feed
• Silver Pangas Feed
• Fresh Carp feed

Character of Fresh fish feed

• Selected raw material and ingredients, full content and premium nutrition.
• Select high grade of soybean oil, meat, and bone meal, fish meal, rice polish etc. To formulate the feeds which is abundant in digestible amino acids, vitamin, trace element for fish which can fully meet the nutritional requirements in whole breeding also can shorten the breeding cycle because of good palatability and faster growth.
• High digestibility and utilization rate
• Apply advanced micro-powder technology and improve the fine degree of feed ingredients, so that increase the digestibility
• Under normal condition, fry mash feeds: FCR 0.8-1.2,grower feeds: FCR 1.5-1.8
• Improve resistance.

Customer facility of UHFL

UHFL ultimate customer is Dealer. Company set dealer in different territory   through their marketing team. Dealer sales this product to respective farmer. Dealer gets some benefit from the company. But they have to sale certain amount of product. Dealer gets the following benefit from UHFL:

• Every dealer get 5tk./kg fixed commission
• Every dealer get 500-700tk per ton feed traveling allowance.
• If any dealer complete their yearly sales volume of 400-800 ton,800-1000 ton ,1000-above ton then company give them extra 0.10tk, 0.15tk,and 0.20tk/kg  commission above total amount of sales
• Some big dealer gets one or two true credit facility for 07 days or Yearly .
• At the end of the year company arrange a conference for dealer .

Distribution channels used by the UHFL:

Marketing channel may be defined as the chain of some middlemen through which the transaction of commodity takes place from producer to the ultimate consumer. Marketing channels are the alternative routes of products flow from producer to consumer. The chain of intermediaries of middlemen through which the transaction of goods take place between producer and consumer is known as marketing channel. It is the pipeline through which a product flows on its way to the consumer. Marketing channel also refer to the sequential arrangement of various marketing intermediaries involved in the movement of product from grower to the ultimate consumers.The  marketing channel or channel of distribution is a path trace in the direct or indirect transfer  of ownership to a product as it moves from a producer to ultimate consumer or industrial user. A distribution channel consists of the set of people and firms involved in the flow of title to a product as its moves from producer to ultimate consumer or business user. The study attemted to find out the existing distribution channels of fish feed marketing used in UHFL.

On the basis of of the following channels of distribution can be identified-

Channel1: Fish feed mill> Dealer >Fish Farm

Channel2: Fish feed mill>Fish farm

Channel3: Fish feed mill>Dealer>Sub-Dealer>Fish farm

Among the above mentioned channels, Channel1 is the most important channel and also used as the main channel in UHFL. On the other hand , Channel 2 and 3 are less  important and used only to distribute their product partially along with channel1.

Marketing Strategies of UHFL:

• Always try to give best quality product for their customer. Because UHFL keep believe in quality .This is their first priority.

• UHFL always believes to satisfy his customer. They try to give best service to their customer

• UHFL always keeps the relationship with their customer good. They believe  relationship with customer is the key to success in business

• Skilled personnel can bring any success. They know how to gain UHFL deserves skilled marketing department.

• UHFL always enhance marketing department people by giving reward so that they work hard and be able to bring success.

Marketing Strategy of UHFL through marketing mix:

Marketing Mix

The marketing mix is probably the most famous marketing term. Its elements are the basic, tactical components of a marketing plan. Also known as the Four P’s, the marketing mix elements are price, place, product and promotion. The concept is simple. Think about another common mix – a cake mix. All cakes contain eggs, milk, flour, and sugar. However, you can alter the final cake by altering the amounts of mix elements contained in it. So for a sweet cake add more sugar!

It is the same with the marketing mix. The offer you make to you customer can be altered by varying the mix elements. So for a high profile brand, increase the focus on promotion and desensitize the weight given to price. Another way to think about the marketing mix is to use the image of an artist’s palette. The marketer mixes the prime colors (mix elements) in different quantities to deliver a particular final color. Every hand painted picture is original in some way, as is every marketing mix.

Some commentators will increase the marketing mix to the Five P’s, to include people. Others will increase the mix to Seven P’s, to include physical evidence (such as uniforms, facilities, or livery) and process (i.e. the whole customer experience e.g. a visit the Disney World). The term was coined by Neil H. Borden in his article The Concept of the Marketing Mix in 1965.

Price

There are many ways to price a product. Let’s have a look at some of them and try to understand the best policy/strategy in various situations.

There are many ways to price a product. Let’s have a look at some of them and try to understand the best policy/strategy in various situations.

1. Premium Pricing

Use a high price where there is uniqueness about the product or service. This approach is used where a substantial competitive advantage exists. Such high prices are charge for luxuries such as Cunard Cruises, Savoy Hotel rooms, and Concorde flights.

2. Penetration Pricing

The price charged for products and services is set artificially low in order to gain market share. Once this is achieved, the price is increased. This approach was used by France Telecoms and Sky TV.

3. Economy Pricing

This is a no frills low price. The cost of marketing and manufacture are kept at a minimum. Supermarkets often have economy brands for soups, spaghetti, etc.

4. Price Skimming

Charge a high price because you have a substantial competitive advantage. However, the advantage is not sustainable. The high price tends to attract new competitors into the market, and the price inevitably falls due to increased supply. Manufacturers of digital watches used a skimming approach in the 1970s. Once other manufacturers were tempted into the market and the watches were produced at a lower unit cost, other marketing strategies and pricing approaches are implemented.

Premium pricing, penetration pricing, economy pricing, and price skimming are the four main pricing policies/strategies. They form the bases for the exercise. However there are other important approaches to pricing.

5. Psychological Pricing

This approach is used when the marketer wants the consumer to respond on an emotional, rather than rational basis. For example ‘price point perspective’ 99 cents not one dollar.

6. Product Line Pricing

Where there is a range of product or services the pricing reflect the benefits of parts of the range. For example car washes. Basic wash could be $2, wash and wax $4, and the whole package $6.

7. Optional Product Pricing

Companies will attempt to increase the amount customer spend once they start to buy. Optional ‘extras’ increase the overall price of the product or service. For example airlines will charge for optional extras such as guaranteeing a window seat or reserving a row of seats next to each other.

8. Captive Product Pricing

Where products have complements, companies will charge a premium price where the consumer is captured. For example a razor manufacturer will charge a low price and recoup its margin (and more) from the sale of the only design of blades which fit the razor.

9. Product Bundle Pricing

Here sellers combine several products in the same package. This also serves to move old stock. Videos and CD s are often sold using the bundle approach.

10. Promotional Pricing

Pricing to promote a product is a very common application. There are many examples of promotional pricing including approaches such as BOGOF (Buy One Get One Free).

11. Geographical Pricing

Geographical pricing is evident where there are variations in price in different parts of the world. For example rarity value, or where shipping costs increase price.

12. Value Pricing

This approach is used where external factors such as recession or increased competition force companies to provide ‘value’ products and services to retain sales  e. g. value meals at McDonald’s.

Place

Another element of Neil H. Borden’s Marketing Mix is Place. Place is also known as channel, distribution, or intermediary. It is the mechanism through which goods and/or services are moved from the manufacturer/ service provider to the user or consumer.

A channel of distribution comprises a set of institutions which perform all of the activities utilized to move a product and its title from production to consumption (Buckling, 1996).

Another element of Neil H. Borden’s Marketing Mix is Place. Place is also known as channel, distribution, or intermediary. It is the mechanism through which goods and/or services are moved from the manufacturer/ service provider to the user or consumer.

There are six basic ‘channel’ decisions:

• Do we use direct or indirect channels? (e. g. ‘direct’ to a consumer, ‘indirect’ via a wholesaler).
• Single or multiple channels.
• Cumulative length of the multiple channels.
• Types of intermediary (see later).
• Number of intermediaries at each level (e.g. how many retailers in Southern Spain).
• Which companies as intermediaries to avoid ‘intra channel conflict’ (i.e. infighting between local distributors).

Selection Consideration

• Market segment – the distributor must be familiar with your target consumer and segment.
• Changes during the product life cycle – different channels can be exploited at different points in the PLC e.g. Foldaway scooters are now available everywhere. Once they were sold via a few specific stores.
• Producer – distributor fit – Is there a match between their polices, strategies, image, and yours? Look for ‘synergy’.
• Qualification assessment – establish the experience and track record of your intermediary.
• How much training and support will your distributor require?

Product

For many a product is simply the tangible, physical entity that they may be buying or selling. You buy a new car and that’s the product – simple! Or may be not. When you buy a car, is the product more complex than you first thought?

• The Product Life Cycle (PLC) is based upon the biological life cycle. For example, a seed is planted (introduction); it begins to sprout (growth); it shoots out leaves and puts down roots as it becomes an adult (maturity); after a long period as an adult the plant begins to shrink and die out (decline).
• The Customer Life Cycle (CLC) has obvious similarities with the Product Life Cycle (PLC). However, CLC focuses upon the creation of and delivery of lifetime value to the customer i.e. looks at the products or services that customers NEED throughout their lives.
• The Product Life Cycle (PLC) is based upon the biological life cycle. For example, a seed is planted (introduction); it begins to sprout (growth); it shoots out leaves and puts down roots as it becomes an adult (maturity); after a long period as an adult the plant begins to shrink and die out (decline).

In theory it’s the same for a product. After a period of development it is introduced or launched into the market; it gains more and more customers as it grows; eventually the market stabilizes and the product becomes mature; then after a period of time the product is overtaken by development and the introduction of superior competitors, it goes into decline and is eventually withdrawn.

However, most products fail in the introduction phase. Others have very cyclical maturity phases where declines see the product promoted to regain customers.

Strategies for the differing stages of the Product Life Cycle

1. Introduction

The need for immediate profit is not a pressure. The product is promoted to create awareness. If the product has no or few competitors, a skimming price strategy is employed. Limited numbers of product are available in few channels of distribution.

2. Growth

Competitors are attracted into the market with very similar offerings. Products become more profitable and companies form alliances, joint ventures and take each other over. Advertising spend is high and focuses upon building brand. Market share tends to stabilize.

3. Maturity

Those products that survive the earlier stages tend to spend longest in this phase. Sales grow at a decreasing rate and then stabilize. Producers attempt to differentiate products and brands are key to this. Price wars and intense competition occur. At this point the market reaches saturation. Producers begin to leave the market due to poor margins. Promotion becomes more widespread and uses a greater variety of media.

4. Decline

At this point there is a downturn in the market. For example more innovative products are introduced or consumer tastes have changed. There is intense price-cutting and many more products are withdrawn from the market. Profits can be improved by reducing marketing spend and cost cutting.

5. Problems with Product Life Cycle

In reality very few products follow such a prescriptive cycle. The length of each stage varies enormously. The decisions of marketers can change the stage, for example from maturity to decline by price-cutting. Not all products go through each stage. Some go from introduction to decline. It is not easy to tell which stage the product is in. Remember that PLC is like all other tools. Use it to inform your gut feeling.

Promotion

Another one of the 4P’s is promotion. This includes all of the tools available to the marketer for ‘marketing communication’. As with Neil H. Borden’s marketing mix, marketing communications has its own ‘promotions mix.’ Think of it like a cake mix, the basic ingredients are always the same. However if you vary the amounts of one of the ingredients, the final outcome is different.

Another one of the 4P’s is ‘promotion’. This includes all of the tools available to the marketer for ‘marketing communication’. As with Neil H. Borden’s marketing mix, marketing communications has its own ‘promotions mix.’ Think of it like a cake mix, the basic ingredients are always the same. However if you vary the amounts of one of the ingredients, the final outcome is different. It is the same with promotions. You can ‘integrate’ different aspects of the promotions mix to deliver a unique campaign. The elements of the promotions mix are:

• Personal Selling.
• Sales Promotion.
• Public Relations.
• Direct Mail.
• Trade Fairs and Exhibitions.
• Advertising.
• Sponsorship.

The elements of the promotions mix are integrated to form a coherent campaign. As with all forms of communication. The message from the marketer follows the ‘communications process’ as illustrated above. For example, a radio advert is made for a car manufacturer. The car manufacturer (sender) pays for a specific advert with contains a message specific to a target audience (encoding). It is transmitted during a set of commercials from a radio station (Message / media).

The message is decoded by a car radio (decoding) and the target consumer interprets the message (receiver). He or she might visit a dealership or seek further information from a web site (Response). The consumer might buy a car or express an interest or dislike (feedback). This information will inform future elements of an integrated promotional campaign. Perhaps a direct mail campaign would push the consumer to the point of purchase. Noise represents the thousand of marketing communications that a consumer is exposed to everyday, all competing for attention.

The Promotions Mix

Let us look at the individual components of the promotions mix in more detail. Remember all of the elements are ‘integrated’ to form a specific communications campaign.

1. Personal Selling

Personal Selling is an effective way to manage personal customer relationships. The sales person acts on behalf of the organization. They tend to be well trained in the approaches and techniques of personal selling. However sales people are very expensive and should only be used where there is a genuine return on investment. For example salesmen are often used to sell cars or home improvements where the margin is high.

2. Sales Promotion

Sales promotion tends to be thought of as being all promotions apart from advertising, personal selling, and public relations. For example the BOGOF promotion, or Buy One Get One Free. Others include couping, money-off promotions, competitions, free accessories (such as free blades with a new razor), introductory offers (such as buy digital TV and get free installation), and so on. Each sales promotion should be carefully costed and compared with the next best alternative.

3. Public Relations (PR)

Public Relations is defined as ‘the deliberate, planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding between an organization and its publics’ (Institute of Public Relations). It is relatively cheap, but certainly not cheap. Successful strategies tend to be long-term and plan for all eventualities. All airlines exploit PR; just watch what happens when there is a disaster. The pre-planned PR machine clicks in very quickly with a very effective rehearsed plan.

4. Direct Mail

Direct mail is very highly focused upon targeting consumers based upon a database. As with all marketing, the potential consumer is ‘defined’ based upon a series of attributes and similarities. Creative agencies work with marketers to design a highly focused communication in the form of a mailing. The mail is sent out to the potential consumers and responses are carefully monitored. For example, if you are marketing medical text books, you would use a database of doctors’ surgeries as the basis of your mail shot.

5. Trade Fairs and Exhibitions

Such approaches are very good for making new contacts and renewing old ones. Companies will seldom sell much at such events. The purpose is to increase awareness and to encourage trial. They offer the opportunity for companies to meet with both the trade and the consumer. Expo has recently finish in Germany with the next one planned for Japan in 2005, despite a recent decline in interest in such events.

6. Advertising

Advertising is a ‘paid for’ communication. It is used to develop attitudes, create awareness, and transmit information in order to gain a response from the target market. There are many advertising ‘media’ such as newspapers (local, national, free, trade), magazines and journals, television (local, national, terrestrial, satellite) cinema, outdoor advertising (such as posters, bus sides).

7. Sponsorship

Sponsorship is where an organization pays to be associated with a particular event, cause or image. Companies will sponsor sports events such as the Olympics or Formula One. The attributes of the event are then associated with the sponsoring organization.

The elements of the promotional mix are then integrated to form a unique, but coherent campaign.

Physical Evidence

Physical Evidence is the material part of a service. Strictly speaking there are no physical attributes to a service, so a consumer tends to rely on material cues. There are many examples of physical evidence, including some of the following:

Physical evidence is the material part of a service. Strictly speaking there are no physical attributes to a service, so a consumer tends to rely on material cues. There are many examples of physical evidence, including some of the following:

• Packaging.
• Internet/web pages.
• Paperwork (such as invoices, tickets and dispatch notes).
• Brochures.
• Furnishings.
• Sign age (such as those on aircraft and vehicles).
• Uniforms.
• Business cards.
• The building itself (such as prestigious offices or scenic headquarters).
• Mailboxes and many others

A sporting event is packed full of physical evidence. Your tickets have your team’s logos printed on them, and players are wearing uniforms. The stadium itself could be impressive and have an electrifying atmosphere. You traveled there and parked quickly nearby, and your seats are comfortable and close to restrooms and store. All you need now is for your team to win!

Some organizations depend heavily upon physical evidence as a means of marketing communications, for example tourism attractions and resorts (e.g. Disney World), parcel and mail services (e.g. UPS trucks), and large banks and insurance companies (e.g. Lloyds of London).

People

People are the most important element of any service or experience. Services tend to be produced and consumed at the same moment, and aspects of the customer experience are altered to meet the ‘individual needs’ of the person consuming it.

People are the most important element of any service or experience. Services tend to be produced and consumed at the same moment, and aspects of the customer experience are altered to meet the ‘individual needs’ of the person consuming it. Most of us can think of a situation where the personal service offered by individuals has made or tainted a tour, vacation or restaurant meal. Remember, people buy from people that they like, so the attitude, skills and appearance of all staff need to be first class. Here are some ways in which people add value to an experience, as part of the marketing mix – training, personal selling and customer service.

Training

All customer facing personnel need to be trained and developed to maintain a high quality of personal service. Training should begin as soon as the individual starts working for an organization during an induction. The induction will involve the person in the organization’s culture for the first time, as well as briefing him or her on day-to-day policies and procedures. At this very early stage the training needs of the individual are identified. A training and development plan is constructed for the individual which sets out personal goals that can be linked into future appraisals. In practice most training is either ‘on-the-job’ or ‘off-the-job.’ On-the-job training involves training whilst the job is being performed e.g. training of bar staff. Off-the-job training sees learning taking place at a college, training center or conference facility. Attention needs to be paid to Continuing Professional Development (CPD) where employees see their professional learning as a lifelong process of training and development.

Personal Selling

There are different kinds of salesperson. There is the product delivery salesperson. His or her main task is to deliver the product, and selling is of less importance e.g. fast food, or mail. The second type is the order taker, and these may be either ‘internal’ or ‘external.’ The internal sales person would take an order by telephone, e-mail or over a counter. The external sales person would be working in the field. In both cases little selling is done. The next sort of sales person is the missionary.

Here, as with those missionaries that promote faith, the salesperson builds goodwill with customers with the longer-term aim of generating orders. Again, actually closing the sale is not of great importance at this early stage. The forth type is the technical salesperson, e.g. a technical sales engineer. Their in-depth knowledge supports them as they advise customers on the best purchase for their needs. Finally, there are creative sellers. Creative sellers work to persuade buyers to give them an order. This is tough selling, and tends to offer the biggest incentives. The skill is identifying the needs of a customer and persuading them that they need to satisfy their previously unidentified need by giving an order.

Customer Service

Many products, services and experiences are supported by customer services teams. Customer services provided expertise (e.g. on the selection of financial services), technical support (e.g. offering advice on IT and software) and coordinate the customer interface (e.g. controlling service engineers, or communicating with a salesman). The disposition and attitude of such people is vitally important to a company. The way in which a complaint is handled can mean the difference between retaining or losing a customer, or improving or ruining a company’s reputation. Today, customer service can be face-to-face, over the telephone or using the Internet. People tend to buy from people that they like, and so effective customer service is vital. Customer services can add value by offering customers technical support and expertise and advice.

Process

Process is another element of the extended marketing mix, or 7P’s.There are a number of

Perceptions of the concept of process within the business and marketing literature. Some see processes as a means to achieve an outcome, for example – to achieve a 30% market share a company implements a marketing planning process.

Process is another element of the extended marketing mix, or 7P’s.There are a number of perceptions of the concept of process within the business and marketing literature. Some see processes as a means to achieve an outcome, for example – to achieve a 30% market share a company implements a marketing planning process.

Another view is that marketing has a number of processes that integrate together to create an overall marketing process, for example – telemarketing and Internet marketing can be integrated. A further view is that marketing processes are used to control the marketing mix, i.e. processes that measure the achievement marketing objectives. All views are understandable, but not particularly customer focused.

For the purposes of the marketing mix, process is an element of service that sees the customer experiencing an organization’s offering. It’s best viewed as something that your customer participates in at different points in time. Here are some examples to help your build a picture of marketing process, from the customer’s point of view.

Going on a cruise – from the moment that you arrive at the dockside, you are greeted; your baggage is taken to your room. You have two weeks of services from restaurants and evening entertainment, to casinos and shopping. Finally, you arrive at your destination, and your baggage is delivered to you. This is a highly focused marketing process.

Booking a flight on the Internet – the process begins with you visiting an airline’s website. You enter details of your flights and book them. Your ticket/booking reference arrives by e-mail or post. You catch your flight on time, and arrive refreshed at your destination. This is all part of the marketing process.

At each stage of the process, markets

• Deliver value through all elements of the marketing mix. Process, physical evidence and people enhance services.
• Feedback can be taken and the mix can be altered.
• Customers are retained, and other serves or products are extended and marked to them.
• The process itself can be tailored to the needs of different individuals, experiencing a similar service at the same time.

Processes essentially have inputs, throughputs and outputs (or outcomes). Marketing adds value to each of the stages. Take a look at the lesson on value chain analysis to consider a series of processes at work.

The value chain is a systematic approach to examining the development of competitive advantage. It was created by M. E. Porter in his book, Competitive Advantage (1980). The chain consists of a series of activities that create and build value. They culminate in the total value delivered by an organization. The ‘margin’ depicted in the diagram is the same as added value. The organization is split into ‘primary activities’ and ‘support activities.’

Here goods are received from a company’s suppliers. They are stored until they are needed on the production/assembly line. Goods are moved around the organization.

Operations

This is where goods are manufactured or assembled. Individual operations could include room service in a hotel, packing of books/videos/games by an on-line retailer, or the final tune for a new car’s engine.

Outbound Logistics

The goods are now finished, and they need to be sent along the supply chain to wholesalers, retailers or the final consumer.

Marketing and Sales

In true customer orientated fashion, at this stage the organization prepares the offering to meet the needs of targeted customers. This area focuses strongly upon marketing communications and the promotions mix.

Service

This includes all areas of service such as installation, after-sales service, complaints handling, training and so on.

Procurement

This function is responsible for all purchasing of goods, services and materials. The aim is to secure the lowest possible price for purchases of the highest possible quality. They will be responsible for outsourcing (components or operations that would normally be done in-house are done by other organizations), and e Purchasing (using IT and web-based technologies to achieve procurement aims).

Technology Development

Technology is an important source of competitive advantage. Companies need to innovate to reduce costs and to protect and sustain competitive advantage. This could include production technology, Internet marketing activities, lean manufacturing, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and many other technological developments.

Human Resource Management (HRM)

Employs are expensive and vital resources. An organization would manage recruitment and selection, training and development, and rewards and remuneration,The mission and objectives of the organization would be driving force behind the HRM strategy.

RESULT AND DISCUSSIONS

Overview of Unique Hatchery

UHFL is started its business in Bangladesh in 2007.From that they are trying to be the leading agribusiness industry in Bangladesh. Now their Market share is about 5% of total fish feed sales in the country. Recently a Floating fish feed mill is added to this industry. The production capacity of the industries is about 7 tonnes/Hours (sinking fish feed) .

 SWOT ANALYSIS OF UNIQUE HATCHERY

SWOT analysis is a tool for auditing an organization and its environment. It is the first stage of planning and helps marketers to focus on key issues. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors. Opportunities and threats are external factors.

Strengths of UNIQUE HATCHERY & FEEDS LIMITED (UHFL)

• UHFL  has  unique strength is his product quality. At present their quality of product is best in Bangladesh. Customer are getting expected result of  Fresh  feed . Thats why they are willing to buy Fresh fish feed.  UHFL are maintaining their feed quality & other products quality same . For that reason their sales volume has been increasing day by day.
• UHFL marketing department is highly experienced. All the personnel of marketing department are recruited of the graduate of Bangladesh Agricultural University and other recognized University. They are very skilled in technical side as well as sales & marketing.
• UHFL product delivery system is very smooth. Customer can easily get their goods without any hazard. Fresh feed mill production capacity is 12 mectric ton per hour which helps their delivery system.
• UHFL believes good relationship with customer. They keep the good relationship with customer all the time. Customers are also satisfied.

Weakness of UNIQUE HATCHERY & FEEDS  LIMITED (UHFL)

In Bangladesh poultry industry is very much competitive. Every company tries to strength their position. New Hope Feed mills co. ltd, CP, Paragon, Nourish, Aftab, ACI-GODREJ, Quality feed, Kazi Farms  Group are the major competitor of UHFL. Customer needs fish fry & feed. At first they need fish fry .Then feed. Every company above mentioned both have Hatchery & feed. Thats why this companies sales volume remains steady. But UHFL has no fish Hatchery. This is UHFL weakness.

Opportunities of UNIQUE HATCHERY & FEEDS LIMITED (UHFL)

• There is a big market of fish feed & fish fry in Bangladesh. Day by day the market size is increasing .There are 40 thousand tons fish feed market in Bangladesh. UHFL has a great opportunity to capture maximum market share indeed. For that reason they have to setup hatchery for fish Hatchery and Floating Feed mills. After setting the hatchery and feed mills UHFL Sales volume must be increased & will be able to gain maximum market share.

Threat of UNIQUE HATCHERY  & FEEDS  LIMITED (UHFL)

• There is a big threat for UHFL is various types of dieases in fish . When dieases is breakout the market face great difficulties. The growth of fish is not obtained expected wt and in timely. Farmer doesn’t want to cultivate fish in next year. Finally UHFL sales affected badly. Other competitor company also faces same kind of problem.
• Competitor Company are trying to increase their feed quality & also strengthen their marketing side. It is also big threat for UHFL if they don’t setup hatchery for fish fry and set up any floating feed mill .

FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

Introduction

An attempt has been made in this chapter to identify the problems faced by the fish feed producer and traders and suggest some measures to overcome these problems. Study of the problems related to an industry is very much important in order to acquire a clear idea about that industry. Generally the reasons and causes that obstruct or hamper the achievement of objective are treated as problems.

Whereas, suggestions are indication of some measures to overcome these problems relating to the industry, those have strong influence in fish feed production as well as fish feed marketing. The problems related to the fish feed production and marketing are discussed under two major heads:

1) Problems faced by the fish feed mills

2) Problems faced by the fish feed traders

Problems Faced by the Feed Mills(UHFL)

In the present study, the feed mill (UHFL) were found to face a number of crucial problems. Among which unavailability and high price of raw materials, lack of information, insufficient demand for fish feed, problems associated with import, variation in price and quality of raw materials, high rate of tax and other charges, transportation problem, power failure, political hazards, absence of quality control measures, storage problems of feedstuffs, lack of policy, credit related problem, lack of research, skilled manpower and training facilities and lack of proper infrastructure facility, equipment and machinery.

Unavailability and High Price of Raw Materials

Some important ingredients, such as good quality fish meal, soybean meal, growth promoting substances, fungicides and preservatives are not available in Bangladesh. Besides this, some potential fish feed ingredients, such as blood meal, viscera meal, slaughterhouse wastes, poultry processing wastes, silkworm pupae, etc,, are not available in processed and refined form. The high cost of some of the feed ingredients like fish meal was a major problem for fish feed mill. In the report, UHFL were noticed to face crucial problem arising from unavailability and high price of raw materials. All of the firms mentioned it as one of their major problems.

Lack of Information

Necessity of proper and adequate information for the development of any sector is undeniable. In Bangladesh, information on the nutritional requirements of major carps for grow-out fish are available but not for nursery and brood fish. For catfish and other target species, nutritional studies are incomplete and knowledge is insufficient for the formulation and manufacture of feeds. Moreover, information on the digestibility of locally available ingredients is not available. Again, data on fisheries sub-sector provided by different organization were confusing and different. They claimed that due to absence of appropriate and adequate data they were facing problem in assessing future demand of feed and setting appropriate production plan. All the firms mentioned that they had little information regarding requirement of feeds for different fishes in Bangladesh.

Insufficient Demand for Fish Feed

Though Bangladesh has vast water bodies suitable for aquaculture, fish and shrimp culture is still traditional in nature. Intensive^ aquaculture is not yet practiced and semi-intensive aquaculture is a recent trend. As a result demand for and use of manufactured aquafeeds is very low and not yet conducive to the development of commercial production. Moreover the poor socio-economic conditions of farmers do not permit the use of feed for fish and shrimp culture.

Bangladesh is a poor developing country where the per capita income is very low; farmers cannot afford considerable expenditure on aquafeeds.This is the greatest constraint on the manufacturing and use of aquafeed. Another reason for low demand of fish feed is poor extension service provided by government (Haqtio and Morshed, 2000). Extension work to motivate farmers to use aquafeeds in order to increase production and economic benefits is inadequate Ninety per cent of firms Mentioned low demand for fish feed as one of their major problem.

Problems Associated with Import

In UHFL, maximum raw materials of feed industry were imported from abroad. The UHFL were found almost fully dependent on the imports of raw materials. Supply and availability of these raw materials in the local market were not smooth throughout the year. These raw materials were found very much scarce whenever any complexity arose in import and shipment and thereby production of the feed mills was hampered greatly. Sometimes the UHFL faced serious problems for importing ingredients, such as ingredients did not reach the mill in time because of delayed shipping services and port strike. Ninety per cent of firms mentioned this type of problem as a major constraint of fish feed industry.

Variation in Price and Quality of Raw Materials

Wider variation in price and quality of raw materials used in fish feed preparation was mentioned as a major problem by ninety per cent of feed mills. The price and quality of processed feed greatly depends on the price and quality of the raw materials used. Due to variation in raw materials price and quality, the UHFL were not able to maintain the same price and quality of processed feed in every batch. Thus a way the UHFL were found to face serious problem in building reputation and goodwill of the firm and creating brand loyalty of the customer.

Transportation Problem

Current transportation systems for commercial aqua feeds are not well organized. The_: condition of roads and highways in Bangladesh are not well at all. Furthermore, due to poor transportation facilities, ingredients are not always available at the places and times when they are required. Transportation problem can be explained in two ways. Firstly; transportation problem was associated with import. According to the producer, raw materials did not reach the mill in time because of delayed shipping services and port strike. Secondly, it was associated with the marketing of fish feed. Means of transportation used by fish feed producer were trucks and pickup vans .Sometimes in busy periods they had to hire truck for transportation. Private vehicle owner claimed a higher charge in that time As a result marketing cost of fish feed producer increased. Due to traffic jam fish feed producers were not able to supply their fish feed timely to the dealers and farmers. About eighty per cent of firms identified it as a problem,

Political Hazards

Political instability i.e. strike, hartal and barricades etc were other major problems to run fish feed business. About 70 per cent of the feed mills reported political instability as one of their problem for which they could not deliver their product in due time to the distributor and farmers. UHFL also suffer this type of problem.

Storage Problems of Feedstuffs

Sixty per cent of the firms reported that they were facing problems from the existing techniques of feedstuffs storage. The storage techniques used for feedstuff’s were faulty. Losses occurring in feedstuffs during storage fall under four major categories: (a) weight loss, (b) quality loss, (c) health risk, and (d) economic loss. These losses arise from the foraging activities of insects, micro-organisms and animals; improper handling and, physical and chemical changes. The first three categories of storage loss are of primary concern to the compound feed manufacturer. On the other hand economic loss may be defined as the cost incurred in inspection, prevention, and control to maintain quality standards.

Lack of Policy

There was no suitable policy regarding manufacturing of fish feed in Bangladesh. Government did not declare any programme or scheme for the development of fish feed industry. As a result, UHFL cannot increase their production although they have capacity. About sixty per cent feed mill mentioned absence of policy as their main problem.

Credit Related Problem

There is no established credit system. As a result,  producers borrow money at a high interest rate; most of their profits go to the moneylenders. Sixty per cent Fish feed mill pointed out lack of institutional credit as a major problem for running the business of fish feed. They reported that when they were in need for credit for production of fish feed, they did not get required amount from institutional sources due to complicated bureaucratic procedures. They also reported that higher bank rate has also discouraged them to have more credit from bank.

Problems Faced by the Feed Traders

The feed traders of the UHFL were found to face some problems. According to the statements of these traders, the main problems were lack of capital, frequent strikes, poor communication and transport facilities, tendency of purchasing feed on credit, price conscious nature of the feed using farms, lack of market information, inadequate supply of feed, problem associated with taking delivery and hoarding.

Lack of Capital

Cash capital is very necessary for fish feed trading. When a trader starts fish feed trading, he needs sufficient cash capital. Among the traders all dealers and sub-dealers faced this problem. They did not get credit from the banks according to their demand. Sometimes they had to borrow money from the non-institutional sources at high interest rate. It was found that financing problem was comparatively acute for sub-dealer. The opportunities of institutional loan were comparatively easy for dealers but difficult for sub-dealer. So they were unable to expand their business. High interest rate of credit was another problem for dealer and sub-dealer.

Tendency of Purchasing Feed on Credit

About seventy one per cent of dealers and seventy eight per cent of sub-dealers mentioned that another important problem of their business was the tendency of the feed using farms to purchase feed on credit. According to their statement, a large portion of their total sale was generally occurred on credit and they often faced serious problem to recovery this money. As a result they had to suffer from heavy losses. Such irregular payment by farmers often handicapped the traders in running the fish feed business.

Price Conscious Nature of the Feed Using Farms.

About sixty three per cent of dealers and fifty six per cent of sub-dealers stated that they were facing problem due to the price conscious nature of the feed using farms. They claimed that most of the feed using farms; especially the small and medium scale farms, were price conscious rather than quality conscious in nature. These feed using farms preferred low quality feed and feed ingredients due to the low price.

Lack of Market Information

Market information plays an important role in fish feed trading. It was found that there was lack of adequate market information. About sixty three per cent of dealers and thirty three per cent of sub-dealers reported lack of adequate market information as one of their problems. They had to collect market information from other traders and by observing current market situation.

Inadequate Supply of Feed

About fifty eight per cent of dealers and twenty two per cent of sub-dealers mentioned that inadequate feed supply was their one of the main problems. They stated that the supply of feed by the feed mills were inadequate and irregular. They also claimed that due to inadequacy of feed supply they were not able to fulfill the customers’ demand and thereby lost their probable profit.

Problem Associated with Taking Delivery

It was complained by dealers that they often faced unexpected situation to receive their fish feed from the fish feed mills. Some times in busy period delivery of fish feed delayed. About thirty eight per cent dealer complained that they could not receive fish feed in proper time and in desired quantity.

Hoarding

The sub-dealer complained against the illegal hoarding of the dealers. They mentioned that artificial crisis was created by dealers. In this study twenty two per cent of sub-dealers stated this problem.

RECOMMENDATION OF THE STUDY

Suggested Solutions from the above discussion, it is clear that the fish feed mill (UHFL) are facing many problems. To overcome these problems the following solutions were suggested :

Research should be undertaken to find out suitable substitute of high priced ingredients. And government has to take proper measure to increase the production of maize, wheat, soybean etc. throughout the country in order to reduce dependency on import.

To reduce the information gap in fisheries sub-sector, initiatives for a detail survey should be taken immediately. The variation of information provided   by   different   agencies   should   be removed   through   co- ordination

The Department of Fisheries of the GOB and NGOs should lunch vigorous and comprehensive efforts to increase the demand for fish feed throughout the country in order to increase the production of fish feed.

The government should take initiative to import major raw materials directly from abroad through Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) and supply it to the fish feed mills on actual cost basis.

The quality level of the imported raw materials should be tested properly. Easy and low cost feed testing facilities should be established.

Government should declare tax holiday facility to the industry up to the year 2020. Income tax exemption can be given to the fish feed mills to encourage the entrepreneurs for greater investment and more production. Fish feed mills may be approved for reasonable electric rates in order to reduce production cost. Charges for land, gas, water etc used by fish feed mill should be at normal agricultural rate.

Transportation facilities should be improved. On the basis of priority roads should be developed. At least brick bedded road should be made. It would increase the efficiency of transportation system and finally it would lower the marketing cost. Adequate number of transport and their availability would also increase the marketing efficiency. Fish feed mills suggested government measures to eliminate traffic jam.

In order to ensure political stability in the country, the government needs to wipe out the terrorists from the society. This would help to create a business environment which is beneficial to fish feed production. Fish Feed standardization and quality control act of fish feed should be formulated   immediately and   placed   the activities   under regulatory agency. Provide financial and technical support to the fish feed mill by government to establish scientific storage facilities. Suitable policy should be formulated for the Development of fish feed industry.

To reduce the shortage of working capital of the fish feed mills, a special short-term easy credit programme should be introduced through the institutional sources of credit Research   on   the   development   of   suitable   aqua   feeds   should   be undertaken under the supervision of government, different universities and other organization. Training programme should be arranged by government in order to provide higher technical knowledge to the employees of fish feed mills to make them skilled manpower.

Measures Suggested by the Traders

The traders who identified their own problems also suggested some measures for the improvement of the existing fish feed trading. These are given below-

The traders needed much more cash for conducting their business. Traders suggested that provision should be made for supply of institutional credit on easy terms as a measure for the solution of credit problem of traders.

In order to ensure political stability in the country, the government needs to wipe out the terrorists from the society. This would help to create a business environment which is beneficial to fish feed production.

Adequate extension services should be undertaken in order to make the farmers quality conscious instead of price conscious. Advantages of using good quality fish feed have to explain towards them.

Provision should be made to disseminate market information among the traders, so that proper decision can be taken by the traders in time.

UHFL has to increase the production of fish feed with appropriate projection of fish feed in order to overcome the problem of inadequate supply of feed.

UHFL have to take proper measures in order to eliminate all kind of problems faced by the dealers while taking delivery of fish feed.

CONCLUSION

The findings of the study indicate that the profitability of fish feed production is quite satisfactory and have capability to attract interest of the entrepreneurs of Bangladesh. The study further reveals that the trading of fish feed is a profitable venture to the dealers and sub-dealers. The fish feed industry is performing a vital role in the development of fishery sector in Bangladesh. Through more participation of the entrepreneurs and patronization from the government agencies, the industry will be able to contribute more in the development of fishery sub-sector of the country in near future. For this purpose, different limitations of this- industry should be eliminated for the benefit of producers and traders. The producer and traders would certainly be benefited financially if the performance of fish feed production and marketing system is improved.

On the basis of conclusions of the study, some recommendations are put forward with a view to improving the production and marketing system of fish feed. These are as follows:

1) Research should be undertaken to find out suitable substitute of high priced ingredients. And government has to take proper measure to increase the production of maize, wheat, soybean, sunflower etc. throughout the country in order to reduce dependency on import.

2) To reduce the information gap in fisheries sub-sector, initiatives for a detail survey should be taken immediately. The variation of information provided by different agencies should be removed through co-ordination

3) The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) of the GOB and NGOs should launch vigorous and comprehensive efforts to increase the demand for fish feed throughout the country in order to increase the production of fish feed.

4) The government should take initiative to import major raw materials directly from abroad through Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) and supply it to the fish feed mills on actual cost basis.

5) The-quality level of the imported raw materials should be tested properly. Easy and low cost feed testing facilities should be established.

6) Government should declare tax holiday facility to the industry up to the year 2020. Income tax exemption can be given to the fish feed mills to encourage the entrepreneurs for greater investment and more production. Fish feed mills may be approved for reasonable electric rates in order to reduce production cost. Charges for land, gas, water etc used by fish feed mill should be at normal agricultural rate.

7) Transportation facilities should be improved. On the basis of priority roads should be developed. At least brick bedded road should be made. It would increase the efficiency of transportation system and finally it would lower the marketing cost. Adequate number of transport and their availability would also increase the marketing efficiency. Fish feed mills suggested government measures to eliminate traffic jam.

8) The fish feed mill specially emphasized on uninterrupted electric supply to the mill.  So the mills can produce fish feed regularly and smoothly. Consequently, the supply of fish feed to the traders and farmers will be regular.

9) In order to ensure political stability in the country, the government needs to wipe out the terrorists from the society. This would help to create a business environment which is beneficial to fish feed production.

10) Fish Feed standardization and quality control act of fish feed should be formulated immediately and placed the activities ijmder regulatory agency.

11) Financial and technical support may be provided to the fish feed mill by government to develop scientific storage facilities,

12) To reduce the shortage of working capital of the fish feed mills and fish feed   traders,  a  special  short-term  easy credit  programme  should  be introduced through the institutional sources of credit

13) Research on the development of suitable aqua feeds should be undertaken by fisheries research institute, different universities and other organization. Training programme should be arranged by government in order provide higher technical knowledge to the employees of fish feed mills to make them skilled manpower.

14) Government should take proper measure to improve the infrastructure facility to develop the fish feed industry. Government should also reduce import duty on equipment and machinery required to fish feed production.

15)  Adequate extension services should be undertaken in order to make the farmers quality conscious instead of price conscious. For this purpose, they are to be explained the benefit of using good quality fish feed.

16)  Provision should be made to disseminate market information among the traders, so that proper decision can be taken by the traders in time

17) Fish feed mill may increase the production of fish feed with appropriate projection of fish feed in order to overcome the problem of inadequate supply of feed.