Russian Federation intends to import more shrimps from Bangladesh through enlisted shrimp producers and packaging industries that would ensure the quality of shrimp according to the requirements of the country.
The department of fisheries will prepare a list of organisations after examining their standard and quality control measures, and send it to the federation authority.
“If they approve the list, more shrimp producing companies will get the chance to export shrimp to Russia,” Minister of Fisheries and Livestock Muhammed Sayedul Hoque told the reporters yesterday after a meeting with Alexander A Nikolaev, Russian Federation’s Ambassador in Dhaka.
The diplomat met the minister in his office at the secretariat to discuss the measures taken by the government to improve the standard of Bangladeshi shrimp.
Earlier, the federation put a ban on shrimp import from Bangladesh last year for its sub-standard quality, but it was opened again after the government took initiatives to improve the quality.
At present, only three companies are allowed to export shrimp to Russia, but those companies are not capable of meeting the demand in the federation. So, the federation wants to increase the number of exporters, which would enable it to import more shrimp from Bangladesh in the future, said the ministry’s Senior Information Officer Mohammad Ali Sarker.
Sayedul Hoque assured the diplomat that Bangladesh has a good prospect in fulfilling Russia’s demand for shrimp as the potential of Bangladesh increased after winning disputes over maritime boundaries with Indian and Myanmar.
Appreciating the swift moves by Bangladesh government to solve problems regarding the poor quality of exported shrimp, Nikolaev said, “It has created prospect of expanding the Bangladeshi shrimp market in Russia.”
The ambassador also requested the minister to give a list of Bangladeshi products that could be exported to the federation.
