Fresh Fish Markets in Oman: A Price Integration Analysis

Previous studies have indicated serious impacts of current market organization on the distribution of fresh fish and consequently on the prevalent pricing system leading to high inter-regional price differences and lack of market integration. The primary area of inquiry in this study relates to market integration as a proxy for spatial pricing efficiency. The Law of One Price (LOP) analysis was used to test whether prices in pairs of markets are integrated through transfer costs or not. The findings of this study have practical policy implications indicating that the current marketing system for fish in Oman is not supporting a fair distribution of returns from fisheries operations to all participants in the sector.