Economic Reporter :
Country’s shrimp export declined in the first seven months (July to January) of the current fiscal due to lower export in USA and European Union (EU) markets.
The Country’s shrimp export was $302.36 million in the first seven months but the government has set the export target of 335.58 million during this period.
The export earning declined by 9.90 per cent, according to the latest data of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
Experts said, shrimp export has been losing its previous glory day by day due to sluggish demand in the international market.
They said countries like India, Thailand, China, Indonesia and Vietnam have been producing white shrimps over the last several years and exporting those at a lower price than Bangladesh.
According to exporters, only 8.0 per cent of the total frozen fish exports are now destined to the US market, once the country’s single-largest market. The country’s export there was about 30 per cent in five years ago.”We are forced to sell at lower prices to retain our international buyers,” SM Amzad Hossain, President of Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association, told The New Nation recently.
“Actually, exports to Russia have dropped to almost zero, while the demand for shrimp also fell in Europe because of an economic slowdown there,” he said. Shrimp exports to the US have been declining each year since 2008-09 as we can’t compete with other exporting countries,” said Amzad Hossain.
Frozen food is the second largest export item of the country, earning about $400 million of foreign currency yearly. It is about three per cent of the total export and contributing 3.78 per cent to GDP.
Md Golam Mostafa, Vice-President of the Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association said, the EU holds the 75 per cent market share of Bangladeshi shrimp exports while Russia holds 10 per cent.
Country’s frozen shrimp has been losing its market in the US over the last decade as it has failed to compete with low-cost and small-sized foreign white varieties, he said.
He also said the shrimp exporters are now facing liquidity crisis due to the fall in price on the international market.Meanwhile, The government has taken initiatives to brand “Black Tiger”, a Bangladeshi shrimp species, to boost export to the US market in the face of recent decline in export earning.
As part of the initiative, a delegation led by Senior Commerce Secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamoon will visit Seafood Expo North America (SENA) to be held from March 8, 2016 in US to talk to the buyers in order to increase export. The Decision was taken at a meeting in the commerce ministry last week.
SENA is a leading trade event for seafood buyers in every market category including retail, restaurant, catering, and food service and processing.
“Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association (BFFEA) and the government jointly took the initiative to brand “Black Tiger” to regain its lost market,” Md Golam Mostafa, Senior Vice-President of BFFEA said.
Due to its lower price, the demand for vannamei shrimp has increased in the US market while that for black tigers dropped despite its succulent taste and quality.
