Photo : Collected
Business leaders of the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) on Monday said that there is large potential for earning foreign currency by exporting shrimp, crab, freshwater fish, marine fish, and other fish.
Bangladesh is still lagging far behind in this sector even though the neighbouring countries have utilised this opportunity, they said.
Fisheries sector traders seek policy support from the government, including the establishment of two separate economic zones for this sector to exploit the untapped opportunities and to increase production and supply of fish at the local and international levels, said the business leaders at the first meeting of the FBCCI Standing Committee on Fisheries Sector. The meeting was held at its Motijheel office.
Meanwhile, traders said that there is an opportunity to earn huge foreign exchange by exporting shrimp, crab, and other fish. However, the amount of space required for fish farming is decreasing day by day. With the allocation of two economic zones of the country for unhindered fish farming, the production of fish will increase significantly if the government cooperates with the use of cage culture or cage system in the river.
FBCCI President Mahbubul Alam, who took part in the meeting virtually, said that earlier the export sectors were tea, leather, and fish. Bangladesh used to earn a lot of foreign currency by exporting them. There has been a declining trend in the fisheries sector. There is no opportunity to export fish as before to meet the local demand, he said.
The FBCCI president sought the opinions of the concerned businessmen to make recommendations for the development of the fisheries sector. FBCCI Senior Vice President Md Amin Helaly urged businesses to work together for the development of the fisheries sector.
The fisheries sector in Bangladesh is a crucial contributor to the country’s economy, not only meeting a significant proportion of the nation’s non-vegetarian food needs but also generating substantial income. In the fiscal year 2020-21, Bangladesh ranked third globally in terms of fisheries resources, harvesting around 20 million tonnes of fish and contributing 3.57 per cent to the country’s GDP.
Additionally, Bangladesh exports fish and fish-related products to over 50 countries worldwide, earning a total of $533 million in FY22, which was more than 1 per cent of the country’s total export earnings.
Over the last three decades, Bangladesh’s fish production increased six-fold. In the fiscal year 1983-84, the country produced only 7.54 lakh metric tonnes of fish. But in the fiscal year 2020-21, the figure exceeded 46.21 lakh metric tonnes. In fact, the government’s Vision 2021 aimed for 45.52 lakh metric tonnes of fish production in 2020-21. More than 57 per cent of the production came from aquaculture.
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