24 June 2008

The country's second largest export earner, the shrimp industry, is unable to tap the full potentials of this sector due to a number of problems including a lack of knowledge on global standards, according to a study released yesterday.

“Bangladesh must comply with all the hygiene issues so that the export of shrimps increases. However, it is not an easy job because of the involvement of numerous players,” M Asaduzzaman, research director of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), told a seminar in Dhaka yesterday.

The seminar, chaired by BIDS Director General Quazi Shahabuddin, was organised to exhibit the preliminary findings of a study on the country's shrimp industry, which is now affected by falling prices in the global market.

The $45.7 crore worth export earning industry is now facing various compliance issues such as sanitary measures from buyers, especially from the European Union (EU), the main destination of the country's shrimp.

The industry is also facing difficult times in their efforts to export to the US on grounds of child labour. However, the government turned down the charges and said child labour does not exist in the shrimp processing plants.

The industry sprang up over the last three decades on the coastal belt of the country and now employs about 12 lakh people at various stages of production, marketing and processing.

People involved with the sector are less aware of the global standards, especially about sanitary measures, which they have to abide by to woo importers, according to the study.

The study also observed that the shrimp business, despite having the potentials to be highly profitable, is risky due to numerous technical factors, lack of observance of basic hygiene factors and lack of knowledge on world standards.

Risks also arise due to the fragile market linkages between the hatcheries and the 'ghers' (enclosure) and also between the 'ghers' and the processing plants.

The BIDS research director said adequate investments are needed to minimise these risks and to boost the exports. “It will help us attain a competitive edge in the global market,” he said.

Syed Ataur Rahman, secretary of the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, said the EU is now laying emphasis on issues such as proper laboratory tests, 'Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points' (HACCP) and trace ability, while the US is focusing on workers' rights.

“We have to address all these issues to boost this sector even further,” he said.

Source:  The Daily Star
Submitted by:  Zakir Kibria