The export of shrimp, which is called ‘While Gold’ has decreased 32 per cent in the first six months of the 2022-23 fiscal year due to the Russia-Ukraine war.
Bangladesh exported shrimp worth US$183.23 million from July to December in the current fiscal year which was US$268.95 million in the same period of the previous year.
According to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), the export of shrimp has reduced this year although it was increasing in the past several years.
The country exported shrimp worth US$407.25 million in 2021-22 fiscal and US$328.84 million in the 2020-21 fiscal year.
EPB said the export target for the first six months of the current fiscal was US$234.41 million but Bangladesh exported shrimp worth US$183.23 million which is US$51.18 million less than the target.
Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association (BFFEA) source said Bangladesh exports 85 per cent of frozen shrimp to European countries and the rest 15 per cent to other countries including the United States and Japan. During the Covid-19 starting period in the country, the export of shrimp was stopped. Later, shrimp export was increasing gradually, but the Russian invasion of Ukraine once again hit the sector.
The export of shrimp in Russia and Ukraine was remained stopped since 24 February 2022. Though Bangladesh can export shrimp to other European countries, the amount of the export is too little. As a result, the exporters of shrimp become very disappointed.
According to EPB, Bangladesh exported 25,544 metric tonnes of shrimp to Europe in 2021 which was 22,091 metric tonnes in 2020. The export amount of shrimp in Russia was 731 metric tonnes and in Ukraine 119 metric tonnes in the 2020-21 fiscal. Bangladesh earned Tk 23.47 crore in the 2020-21 fiscal by exporting shrimp. But shrimp export in these two countries stopped after the war between these two countries.
Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association President Md Amin Ullah said Bangladesh exported a good amount of shrimp till the first half of 2022. The country earned around Tk 5,000 crore till June last year which was 15 per cent more than the same period of the previous fiscal. But it has decreased from July.
Shrimp is an international consumer food. Its price also has been fixed by the international market. The people of Europe badly need power and gas amid the Russia-Ukraine war. Moreover, ongoing inflation in European countries has decreased the price of shrimp. As a result, the market of shrimp has also fallen, he added.
@ The article was published on print and online versions of The Bangladesh Pratidin on January 20, 2023 and has been rewritten in English by Golam Rosul.
