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Bangladesh largely depends on fish to meet the protein demand. The country continually adopts new practices when it comes to fish farming. Using grinded fish heads or pituitary gland (PG) of fish to facilitate artificial reproduction of fish is a notable example in this regard.
However, the cost of this practice has skyrocketed in the international market and therefore became a matter of huge concern for the people involved in this sector.
At present, one gram of grinded fish heads or PG is sold at around Tk 6,000-9,000 in Bangladesh. That means the price of one kilogramme of PG ranges between Tk 6.0 to 9.0 million.
The current local demand for PG is around 50 kg. But only 7 to 8 kg of dried PG is available in Bangladesh and the rest of it is imported from other countries of the subcontinent and China.
According to websites Alibaba and Made in China, the price of PG has been on the rise since last week. As a result, the price of one kg of PG has gone up from Tk 6.8 million to over Tk 10 million.
Although the market is still quite small in Bangladesh, a lot of people involved in the sector are using this method to increase fish spawning up to 50 per cent. Hence, the price hike has turned out to be quite detrimental to them. A lot of people have resorted to trying other methods for fish reproduction.
On the brighter side, more and more fish hatcheries are collecting PG from local sources. This is benefitting the people involved in fish-selling at the wholesale and retail levels.