"The future is bleak," said Kazi Belayet Hossain, a former president of Bangladesh Frozen Fish Exporters' Association. "It will be tough to survive if the present economic situation continues in the west."
More than 805 of the total shrimp exports go to the EU and US markets, and shrimp account for 70% of all frozen exports. Frozen food exporters brought home $598 million in the last fiscal year, down by 4.26% compared to a year before.
Hossain, one of the leading exporters to the USA, said the price of a pound of 16-20 count black tiger shrimp is now at $3.80, off 45% from $7 last year. European countries are offering $3.90 to $4.20 for a pound, and some exporters are able to sell some at that price. But they cant sell any at $3.80 a pound in the US market.
Consumers in the US and the EU now prefer cheap vannamei shrimp. Exporters fear their exports would drop further if the economic slowdown in the US and the financial crisis in the EU persist. They said they cannot sell the items at lower prices as the cost of production is higher in Bangladesh.
Kazi Shahnewaz, president of the association, said due to a fall in the prices and a slowdown in demand, Bangladesh's farmers stopped cultivating 55,000 hectares this year, out of a total of 326,000. He said Bangladesh has to find new markets such as Russia and cultivate small-size verities such as vannamei to sustain the business. A hectare can produce up to 10 tons, whereas it can produce only 200 to 250 kilograms of black tiger.
