September 11, 2007

 

Bangladesh's seafood exports to double to US$1 billion by 2015
 

 

Bangladesh's seafood industry is expected to reap in US$1 billion from seafood exports annually by 2015, the country's Financial Express quoted exporters as saying Monday (Sep 10).

 

Seafood export revenues hit US$527 million for fiscal 2006-07, 12 percent higher than the previous fiscal.

 

Current exports could easily be doubled if seafood companies could continue to adhere to safety requirements set out by importing countries, exporters said.

 

The forecasts were made at a workshop organized by Bangladesh Shrimp and Fish Foundation (BSFF) in association with the department of fisheries.

 

The frozen foods export is the second largest export sector of the country.

 

Shrimp constituted close to 90 percent of revenues from seafood.

 

Total shrimp exports rose by 13 percent to US$457million in the twelve months to June.

 

According to Syed Mahmudul Huq, chairman of the BSFF, fish exports may reach US$100million compared to US$58 million in the 12 months to June 30.

 

Although the industry has improved its food safety record in recent years, Brian Forey, charge d' affaires and acting chief of the EC Delegation to Bangladesh, warned that shrimps had to continue to meet high standards in terms of hygiene and consumer safety.

 

Bangladesh has certainly come a long way since 1997 but the sector faces new challenges, such as contaminated shipments, he said.

 

Meanwhile, exporters are optimistic that they could double or even triple shrimp production with better use of scientific techniques.

 

The average production of the Bagda variety of shrimp per hectare is between 265-280 kilogrammes but the same land can be made to produce more than 1,000 kg of shrimp using scientific techniques, said Abdur Rashed, district fisheries officer of the DoF.

 

Shrimp producers are also having a better grip on the problem of high mortality rates of shrimp fries, he added. Currently, up to 80 percent of the shrimp fry die during the cultivation process. However, producers are beginning to use better nursing systems, leading to a dramatic drop in shrimp fry mortality, he said.