Read a fascinating piece by Tim Harford in BA’s Business Life Magazine (can’t find a link anywhere!) about how the mobile phone has transformed the fortunes of fisherman trawling the 400 miles of Kerala coast in India.
With a million fisherman and 100’s of markets selling their catch knowing where demand was greatest was never a done deal. Very often some areas would be over stocked and tonnes of fish would be wasted, while a few miles down the road that particular type of fish was nowhere to be seen, leaving buyers empty-handed and prices sky-rocketing.
The mobile changed all that. Once fisherman were connected up to the phone masts they had a way of hooking (!) up with the buyers and determining what was needed to be supplied and where.
Fish prices, after an initial scramble, soon flatlined, equalising all the markets. Profits grew and wastage ceased.
Who would have thought such a thing possible 15 years ago?
Let’s hope they don’t catch too many Crazy Frogs!
