November 15, 2012

 

 

With a view to boosting export of the item, the Bangladeshi government has decided to allow cultivation of highly productive vannami species of shrimp in the country.

 

According to an official of the ministry concerned, following a continuous request from the frozen food exporters, the government last month had taken the decision to permit cultivation of the highly productive shrimp in the country.

 

Earlier, the government imposed a ban on cultivation of such species fearing that the arrival of vannami might destroy the country's local varieties (golda and bagda).

 

According to industry people, local cultivators produce only 200-250 kilogrammes of shrimp per hectare of land, while the vannami yield is two to three tonnes per hectare.

 

Local exporters, however, hailed the government decision saying that the initiative would surely increase export of frozen foods manifold within the next five years.

 

"We have long been facing a tough competition from our rivals to survive in the global market, as we are yet to introduce the new and highly productive vannami species in the country," Kazi Shahnewaz, President of Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association (BFFEA) told the FE.

 

"Demand for comparatively low- cost shrimp (vannami) is high in our main exporting destinations but due to absence of such species in the country our export to these regions showed a negative growth for the last couple of years," he added.

 

Khan Habibur Rahman, an exporter said that vannami is gradually replacing local shrimps in the recession-hit EU and the US markets.

 

A high official of the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries (MLF) said that in response to a request from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) under commerce ministry, the MLF took the decision to permit cultivation of vannami species of shrimp in the country.

 

The EPB through the commerce ministry on October 10 last requested the MLF to take necessary steps to permit cultivation of the vannami species after a series of consultation with the stake holders and different chamber leaders. The MLF official, however, also said that the final decision would be taken after receiving detailed proposal from the BFFEA.

 

The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data shows that the sector has been continuously witnessing a negative export growth since April last year. Frozen foods export earnings stood at US$129.54 million during the first three months of the current fiscal year (FY 2013), marking a 30.50% negative growth, compared to the same period of the previous fiscal. The earnings also fell short of the target, set for July-September period of the current fiscal, by 21.92%.