Facing mid-year slump, Bangladesh shrimp industry again pushes for vannamei

In the midst of a mid-fiscal-year slump, the Bangladeshi shrimp industry is again urging its federal government to allow vannamei cultivation in the country, The Daily Star, a Bangladeshi newspaper, reports.

Bangladesh, which heavily produces black tiger shrimp, saw its shrimp export sales drop 21% year-on-year to $189 million in the first five months of the 2018-19 fiscal year, according to the Bangladeshi newspaper, which quotes the country’s Export Promotion Bureau.

This after export receipts from shrimp fell for the fourth consecutive year in fiscal 2017-18 to $408m, the lowest since fiscal 2011-12.

Soaring production and low prices on vannamei from India and other countries are to blame for the tremendous slump, the article advises. Vannamei are running $2 less per pound than the black tiger.

The Financial Express reported in September that the country's Department of Fisheries held a committee meeting to pave the way for a vannamei feasibility study. 

The industry also seeks to double the government's cash subsidy for shrimp and fish exports to 20%, while reducing the tax on exports to 0.25% in line with garments.

Modern Seafood Industries, a large frozen fish and shrimp exporter in the country, has yet to calculate its total export receipts for 2018, but Rezaul Haque, the managing director, predicted that they would be off by 50% from 2017, when $42.3m worth of shrimp and frozen foods were exported, according to the newspaper.

Demand for shrimp was also affected by the devaluation of the British pound and fallout of the US-China trade war, added Tariqul Islam Zaheer, managing director of Achia Sea Foods and also a director of the Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association said.
Source: https://www.undercurrentnews.com

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