In the current fiscal year 2023-24, Satkhira district has witnessed a surge in Galda exports, totaling USD 7 million. This represents not only a substantial financial boost for the district but also a notable increase of 1000 tons in freshwater shrimp production compared to the previous season. The positive momentum is expected to continue, with projections indicating further growth in both exports and production.

The Satkhira District Fisheries Department reveals that the region engages in commercial cultivation of various shrimp species, including Bagda (P. monodon), Galda (M. rosenbergii), Harina (M. monoceros) etc. Despite the popularity of Bagda (P. monodon), farmers are increasingly turning to Galda (M. rosenbergii) farming due to the high prevalence of viruses and infectious diseases affecting Bagda. Additionally, the international market’s significant demand for Galda or freshwater shrimp makes it an attractive option for farmers.

In the current season, Galda cultivation spans 20,000 hectares across seven upazilas in the district, marking a substantial increase of 2,000 hectares from the previous season. Golam Mostafa, a seasoned Galda farmer from Raichpur village in Satkhira Sadar Upazila, shares his success story, stating that the current season’s 4-hectare Galda farming yielded a profit of $7.3 thousand, exceeding the previous season’s earnings of $5.5 thousand. Encouraged by the high growth and favorable prices, Mostafa plans to expand his Galda cultivation in the future.

Despite the success, farmers highlight challenges in Galda production, particularly in the collection of post larvae. Restrictions on collecting PL’s (Post Larvae) from rivers or the Sundarbans, coupled with illegal imports from India which are often disease prone, contribute to the insufficiency of freshwater shrimp production compared to the demand. Farmers are calling for government support to address these challenges and ensure sustainable growth in the Galda industry.

Abul Kalam Babla, the General Secretary of the Bangladesh Prawn Growers Association, emphasizes the vast potential in Satkhira for Galda exports. However, he points out complications in collecting it’s PL, urging government intervention to boost PL production and avert potential disruptions in Galda farming due to the shortages of PL in the future.

Satkhira District Fisheries Officer Anichur Rahman emphasizes the district’s progress, stating that the current season witnessed a 2,000-hectare increase in freshwater shrimp cultivation, resulting in the production of 11 thousand tons with an estimated export market value of $7 million. This notable growth signifies Satkhira’s pivotal role in reshaping Bangladesh’s seafood industry, promising a brighter future for Galda exports.

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The development of the genetically improved strain involved a meticulous 14-generation breeding program, which sourced scampi populations from various regions of India, including Gujarat, Kerala, and Odisha, from 2008 to 2020. This effort culminated in the successful registration of the CIFA-GI Scampi in 2020.

With support from the Prime Minister Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) scheme, the Department of Fisheries sanctioned a project worth US$0.5 million to scale up the genetic improvement program in 2021. This funding facilitated the expansion of infrastructure facilities for producing new generations of CIFA-GI Scampi. Dr. Bindu R. Pillai, the Principal Investigator of the Scampi Project, expressed optimism about the potential of this improved strain for fish farming in inland waters, as its harvest period spans seven months, promising significant returns.

The multiplier hatcheries, supported by the PMMSY funding, have the capacity to produce around 400 million scampi seeds from the supplied brood seed. This increased production capability could potentially expand the production area from 12,500 to 25,000 hectares. As a result, CIFA expects that greater awareness of the economic benefits of CIFA-GI Scampi among the farming community will further boost its production. Already, in the year 2021-22, scampi production in the country has seen a remarkable 2.5-fold increase, rising from 8,303 tons to 21,317 tons.

To support the rapid expansion of scampi farming, ICAR has selected five scampi hatcheries as multiplier hatcheries responsible for producing CIFA-GI Scampi seeds and supplying them to farmers. Furthermore, there are plans to add more hatcheries to the network, with the ambitious goal of bringing 25,000 hectares under scampi farming by the year 2026, as per P.K. Sahoo, the Director of ICAR-CIFA. With these efforts, it is hoped that the genetically improved CIFA-GI Scampi will reclaim its popularity among food lovers and revitalize the freshwater prawn farming industry in India.

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Following this mix farming method the cost of fish farming is low and the production is high. In Sherpur upazila, a farmer is earning Tk 450,000 (USD 4500) in 5 months from 50 decimal of land by cultivating Galda-carp mixed farming. Observing their success, many people are getting interested in fish farming.

Abdul Razzak, a fish farmer of Mirzapur Union, said that about Tk 100,000 (USD 1000) has been spent on Galda-carp mixed farming on 50 decimal of land with the demonstration of the upazila fisheries officer. The fish becomes marketable within 4-5 months. I have already sold fish worth Tk 400,000 (USD 4000) and expecting to sell another Tk 150,000 (USD 1500) worth of fish.

Inchanur Rahman of Shubogacha village said, I received a demonstration of freshwater shrimp – carp farming under the Rajshahi Division’s Fisheries Development Project. Besides, I have spent 100,000 (USD 1000) on shrimp farming. I have provided ready-made feed for Freshwater shrimp farming. I am expecting to earn 500,000 (USD 5000).

Local fish farmer Sohail Rana and Rakibul Islam said, we started farming with 5000 shrimp fry at a cost of Tk 200,000 (USD 2000), about 500-600 kg of freshwater shrimp can be obtained from this. Currently Galda shrimps are being sold at Tk 1000-1100 (USD 10-11) per kg in the market. I hope to make a profit of 100,000 (USD 1000) by selling my shrimps.

Farmers also said that along with shrimp feed, floating feed for carp is given in the morning and evening. For every 100 kg of fish, 3 to 4 kg of feed per day is required. Regular supply of oxygen is required to get optimum result. Galda or freshwater shrimps are not that disease prone. Apart from Sherpur, the produced shrimps will be sold in different bazaars of other areas.

Upazila Fisheries Officer Masud Rana Sarkar said that the water and weather conditions of this upazila are suitable for freshwater shrimp cultivation. Five farmers brought 25,000 PL (post larvae) from Barisal BRAC Hatchery. We are providing all kinds of support to them including the training. Although there are some challenges in shrimp farming, we can say fish farmers have been successful in Galda-carp mixed farming.

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Shrimp farmers are harvesting at the end of their four months hard work and yields put smile on them in size and production. Unfortunately, the smile pales away once taken to the exporter for sale.
 
Shrimp once the 2nd foreign exchange earning industry is now about to go to the stage of poor industry. Due to the global economic recession, demand for shrimps in the international market has fallen drastically. Shrimp exporters have bound to stopped buying from farmers. And if any buys that too at about half of the regular market price.

According to the information of the department of fisheries, same time last year, the shrimp farmers of Khulna sold freshwater shrimp at the rate of Tk 1000 per kg (USD 10 according to the current conversion rate). Now it is selling for only 600 to 700 TK (USD 6 to 7). On the other hand, the cost of production has increased for the farmers due to many other reasons including the price of shrimp food, transportation, wages and allowances of workers.

Talking to the Shrimp farmers of Khulna region, Mr. Abdus Salam said he has not seen such a cheap market price in the last two decades. Elias Hossain said, if the current situation continues, we will have to stop the shrimp production business.

Exporters are saying, due to the lack of demand in international market; we are forced to buy shrimp at low prices. And in this case many are afraid of losing business capital. According to them, government initiatives are now most essential to sustain this industry.

Mr. M A Panna, Managing Director of Fahim Seafood Limited, said, “To save this industry, to save the farmers, the government has to step in.”

“Our embassies are required to talk with all the buyers there. A normal market environment can be brought back through this channel.”

Vice President, Bangladesh Frozen Food Exporters Association (BFFEA), Mr. SM Humayun Kabir

According to the responsible authority, the Department of Fisheries, various steps have been taken to overcome this situation. Including training farmers to produce more shrimp in a small area.

Mr. Tofaz Uddin Ahmed (Divisional Deputy Director, Department of Fisheries, Khulna) said, “Farmers will be given advanced training to change their farming practices. We are working with 300 to 7500 farmers.”

Domestic shrimp consumption is on the rise in Bangladesh. Across the nation, local restaurants can play a vital role to save farmers from their financial loss. It is high time to introduce and create consumers for value added ready to cook shrimp products. Along with traditional shrimp culinary, restaurants may serve popular foreign dishes. Food festivals or fairs may be organized based on shrimp and its different value added items.

These will create a strong value chain for local shrimp businesses and also new job opportunities. Trade associations, consumers awareness entities, entrepreneurs and most importantly related govt authority requires to work together to overcome this hurdle.

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Shrimp exports gained in the 1st quarter (July-September) is about $100.10 million, 18% lower from the first quarter of fiscal 2020-21, which was $122.73 million; according to the data of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).

Shrimp accounts for most of the total exports of the fisheries sector. According to the data from the ministry, 74,042 tons of frozen and live fish were exported in the last financial year (FY20-21), of which 30,571 tons were shrimp. Shrimp sector alone earned $407.25 million from $532.94 million.

Now, considering the drop in purchase orders, overall export earnings from the shrimp sector may decline about 35% by the end of fiscal 2022-23.

To share his experience on the current situation Mr. Ullah went on saying, “Whereas we would previously get $200k for shipping a single container to the EU, we are now getting $150K for the same volume. The reduced demand comes down to the fact that people in the EU are unwilling to purchase luxury items such as shrimp considering the recent economic shocks.

Mr. S Humayun Kabir, chairman of Amam Seafood Industry Ltd, said although the sector’s performance in the first quarter of this fiscal year shows that earnings from shrimp exports have fallen by 18 per cent, overall exports have actually declined by at least 30 per cent.

He then reasoned that fluctuations in the US dollar exchange rate have given them a bit of relief as exporters are benefitting from the high dollar price against Bangladeshi taka.

About getting lower orders, he said the whole of Europe is now witnessing a silent financial crisis that has greatly contributed to the fall in export orders.

Besides, importers are offering at least 25-30% lower prices compared to last year, he added.

Kabir went on to say that local shrimp farmers are failing to secure adequate returns due to the low prices being offered in foreign markets, which will discourage them to keep continuing the business.

“The situation is so dire that many buyers are renegotiating the prices of previously placed orders and as such, stocks are piling up at almost every processing factory,” said Kabir, who is also vice-president of the BFFEA.

The volume of shrimp being exported from Khulna, a major producing region, declined by about 16% to 7,027 tons in the July-September period of the ongoing fiscal year, according to the BFFEA.

Mr. Shyamal Das, managing director of MU Seafood Ltd, said the demand for locally produced shrimp is declining abroad for its higher price compared to the cheaper Vannamei produced in other shrimp producing countries.

“It is a very bad situation as prices are falling fast while sales are down,” he said.

A kilogram of headless black tiger shrimp is now selling for $12 while it was $14 as recently as three months ago.

According to Mr. Das, the demand for shrimp in the EU has declined by more than 40%.

“As our black tiger shrimp is usually consumed as a luxury food in restaurants and hotels, EU importers are pushing back their shipment orders in fear of a recession,” he said.

we “Seafood Network, Bangladesh”, have accumulated country wise major shrimp export values for FY 22-23 of Q1, from the export promotion bureau. Now, let’s take a look into it.

• AE: United Arab Emirates
  245,415.24
• BE: Belgium
  22,712,928.63
• CA: Canada
  537,086.87
• CH: Switzerland
  190,092.51
• CN: China
  369,767.43
• CY: Cyprus
  748,162.87
• DE: Germany
  18,692,222.15
• DK: Denmark
  1,700,859.30
• ES: Spain
  1,606,532.00
• FR: France
  6,837,037.79

• GB: Great Britain
  7,195,689.64
• GR: Greece
  727,446.17
• HK: Hong Kong
  96,210.75
• IE: Ireland
  23,116.52
• IT: Italy
  86,659.72
• JP: Japan
  2,150,649.08
• KW: Kuwait
  5,496.53
• MA: Morocco
  333,344.13
• MY: Malaysia
  84,690.42
• NL: Netherlands
  25,497,389.04

• PL: Poland
  189,352.63
• PT: Portugal
  2,330,890.30
• QA: Qatar
  37,062.58
• RO: Romania
  123,099.55
• RU: Russia
  1,270,831.52
• SA: Saudi Arabia
  8,588.32
• SE: Sweden
  28,490.00
• TH: Thailand
  10,495.45
• TW: New Taiwan
  107,538.80
• US: United States
  1,826,692.01

Country names in alphabetic order and values are in USD.

Shrimp sector ensures the livelihood of more than 800,000 farmers, who collectively cultivate shrimp on 2,75,000 hectares of land in coastal areas of the southwest region of Bangladesh, according to the Department of Fisheries.

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Frozen fish exporters say, few depots in Khulna often inject jelly like liquid substances or tiny transparent marbles to increase the weight by 100-200 gm per kg of shrimp.

The district and upazila administrations, the Fisheries Department and different law enforcement agencies in Khulna, Satkhira and Bagerhat areas have increased vigilance and raids to check the contamination of shrimp.

Usually, jellies and a mixture of different items are pushed into shrimps to increase their weight, and colors are used to make the shrimps attractive. The adulteration, a matter of serious public concern nowadays is being resorted to in shrimps sold locally and exporters to bag extra profits.

According to stakeholder, about 15 million people are (directly and indirectly) involved in the shrimp industry. Bangladesh’s second largest foreign exchange earning sector which started to grow in the late 1960s.

Although, the law enforcement agencies regularly raid fish depots and penalize dishonest traders, the contamination has not completely stopped.

On Wednesday night, another mobile court in Khulna seized and destroyed almost 1000 kgs of shrimp. Fifteen persons, including a top-ranking wholesaler, were fined Tk 1,44,000 during the raid at a depot in the Rupsa bus stand area.

A team of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB-6) and the senior Upazila fisheries officer conducted the drive on the basis of secret information.

The convicts are M/S Rakib Fish’s (local wholesaler) Manager Ibrahim Sheikh, his employees, and several other traders. The Khulna region is very famous for shrimps. This GI product is known to the world as the white gold of Bangladesh. Shrimps from Khulna are supplied to various parts of the country and exported. Some unscrupulous traders are using some substances harmful to human health. We’ll continue our drives against such practices.

RAB-6 Director Lt Col Mohammad Mostak Ahmad

Khulna Civil Surgeon Dr Sujat Ahmed said, such adulterated shrimps might damage the liver and kidneys.

There are more than 700 depots in Notun Bazar and Rupsa area in Khulna city, and over a hundred others in Satkhira and Bagerhat.
Frozen fish exporters say, some depots in Khulna often push jelly, liquid substances and transparent marbles into shrimps (mostly Fresh water) to increase their weight by 100-200 gm per kg and supply to us. And it’s very hard to identify the injected shrimps from thousands of them. For this reason, we have faced huge economic losses as buyers usually return the adulterated shrimp following tests and demand fresh shipments at lower price.

And these rejected shrimps are then sold to traders in Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Dhaka, Savar, Dinajpur, Panchagarh, Bogra, Chandpur, Patuakhali and Feni.

Some dishonest employees of the shrimp trading companies are the main culprits who do such unethical work and damage the business. We have strengthened the monitoring system in the processing factories and the depots as well. The district and the upazila administrations, along with law enforcers, are actively taking very strict action to stop the menace. But still, the shrimp exporters are in a state of fear and anxiety. They get relief only after each shipment is approved.

Mr. Humayun Kabir, vice president of Bangladesh Frozen Food Exporters Association (BFFEA)

The sliver lining, all the effective measures have started to giving it fruits. Shrimp adulteration ratio now close to nil in the export sector these days. But this heinous process is in practice to the local market and it’s high time to work all together and put a full stop on this unethical work in Bangladesh.

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