Shrimp farmers and traders in country’s south-western areas are on the brink of destitution as exports are indefinitely postponed after the Covid-19 spread. The global pandemic has shattered farmers dreams by devastating the supply chain and prompting a collapse in demand.
Due to scarcity of quality fries, the expected production of shrimp is facing setback here.
In addition, the hatchery fry production and the transport system has been disrupted. Although 10 to 20 percent of the demand for fry is available, it has to be purchased at 30 to 40 percent more. In this situation, millions of people of Bagerhat involved in the famous shrimp industry are on their way to lose livelihoods.
According to shrimp farmers and traders, there is a demand of 250 crore ‘Bagda Shrimp’ and two crore lobster fry in Bagerhat district. Due to the coronavirus, production of Bagda shrimp hatcheries is limited and not all farmers can release fish as per their demand. Hatchery fish that are available in the market also have to be purchased at a higher price.
On the other hand, all the 14 lobster hatcheries in Bagerhat have stopped production and farmers will have to rely on natural production.
Several farmers have claimed that the production of lobster will be reduced by 50 to 60 percent this year as compared to last year. Production of shrimp will also decrease at an alarming rate. As a result, the district will lose thousands of crores of taka as revenue.
According to the Bagerhat District Fisheries Department, at the present there are 78,685 Bagda and lobster enclosures in 66,713 hectares of land in Bagerhat district. In the 2018-19 financial year, 16 thousand 565 metric tons of Bagda and 15 thousand 413 metric tons of lobster have been produced in these farms.
Ali Ahmed, a shrimp farmer of Bagerhat sadar upazila, said, “I left about 90 lakh Bagda fry last year in three enclosures of my 12 hundred bighas of land.
This year only 15 lakh fry have been released. This time, due to the fry crisis, we have to buy fry at taka 600more than last year. Besides, shrimps have to be sold at lower prices in the local market as exports have stopped.
I used to sell fish at a fish exporting company for taka 800 to taka 1200. Now, that fish has to be sold in the local market for only 500 to 600 taka.”
Fakir Mahitul Islam Sumon, president of the Bagerhat District Shrimp Business Association, said the total shrimp production in the district has declined by 10 to 15 per cent in the last two-three years due to adverse weather and natural disasters.
At present, the COVID-19 situation came as a big blow to the farmers. As a result, the farmers are not able to sell the marketable fish at reasonable prices.
In Bagerhat district, there is a demand of about two and a half to three hundred crore Bagda fry and one and a half to two crore lobsterfry. But for various reasons, one-third of the fry is not available this year.
The fisherman demanded the government to allow the extraction of fry from natural sources as long as the hatcheries are not able to produce enough lobster and Bagda fry.
Bagerhat District Fisheries OfficerKhaled Kanak said, “Fry crisis is making lives difficult for the farmers. There is a demand of about one and a half crore lobster fry in Bagerhat.
This year 25 to 30 lakh fry will be available in the market.However, he hoped that new opportunities would be created for the farmers if the country prevails from corona pandemic.”