This study investigated the price transmission and market integration of three processed fish: koobi (salted and dried tilapia - Oreochromis niloticus), kpanla (horse mackerel - Trachurus trachurus) and smoked herrings (Clupea species) from 10 fish markets in Ghana. The study used current monthly price data over five years, whilst adopting the Johansen Co-integration procedure, Granger Causality test, Asymmetric Vector Error-Correction and Autoregressive Distributive models for the analyses. The results revealed a lack of cointegration of markets among some fish species. Also, markets for koobi and kpanla showed unidirectional, bidirectional and independent causality, whilst the smoked herring markets exhibited only bidirectional and unidirectional causality. The speed of adjustment for co-integrated markets is higher for smoked herring than for koobi. Positive shocks (price increase) are corrected faster than negative shocks (price decrease), whilst the price of processed fish is identified to be dependent on the prevailing market conditions. Again, the Autoregressive Distributive Lag model revealed that the current price for koobi is partly determined by both current and previous prices in other markets, where a unit increase in the price of koobi in Techiman will increase the price of the same product in the Makola market by 0.59%. For smoked herrings, a unit increase in the current price at Cape Coast increases the current Makola market price by 0.80%. It is, therefore, concluded that poor price transmission and integration among processed fish markets exist. The study recommends that measures be put in place to significantly reduce transaction costs to enhance price transmission and market integration in the processed fish market thus increasing market efficiency. Again, the activities of fish mummies in influencing prices, inventory and stock should be curbed through the provision of storage facilities such as cold storage or processing plants by the Government given the seasonal nature of the commodity.
Keywords: Asymmetric, causality, co-movement, efficiency, fish markets