Frozen food exports registered substantial rise by about 48% to US$191m in the first quarter of the current fiscal year as compared to the same period last year due to increase in shrimp prices in the global market.
In the same period last fiscal year, the earning was $129.5m.
According to Export Promotion Bureau, frozen foods exports recorded 9% fall to $544m in 2012-13 fiscal year as fish production fell due to disease in prawn.
Of the Q1 exports, Bangladesh earned $174m by exporting shrimp, registering 52% rise compared to $114m of the same period last year while frozen fish export recorded 15% decline to $7.27m compared to $8.5m of the previous quarter.
“The production was low against demands, which pushed up the prices of shrimps in the global market,” said Md Amin Ullah, President of Bangladesh Frozen Food Exporters Association (BFFEA). “It brought benefit for us.”
He said the farmers are mostly benefited by the price hike and they are encouraged to go for more production.
“There is a negative attitude in exporting fish including hilsha, which brought down the frozen fish exports,” Amin told the Dhaka Tribune on Wednesday.
Bangladesh’s fish production is around 350,000 tonnes, but exports only 6,000 tonnes, he said urging the government to lift ban on export.
Imposing additional duties by the US government on shrimp imports from five competitor countries, including India and Vietnam, helped increase exports from Bangladesh, he said.
The US Commerce Department increased the duty to 54.5% duty from 4.52% on shrimp imports from India, China, Vietnam, Malaysia and Ecuador as their governments provide huge subsidies for the farmers.
Export earnings rose significantly in the first quarter of the current fiscal year as prices of shrimp increased to a range between $8.5 and $9 per pound from $5 of the previous year, said Khan Habibur Rahman, deputy managing director of Lockpur Group of industries.
The demand for black tiger shrimps rose in the global market, pushing the prices up as production of Vannamei shrimp in Vietnam, China, Indonesia and Malaysia declined due to virus, he added.
The export value enhanced but the volume did not rise as the production of shrimp still low, said Rahman, adding that the country’s shrimp sector needs introduction of latest technology to improve production.
