Gemini Sea Food to supply shrimps to Germany-based global trader

Gemini Sea Food has inked a deal with Lenk, a German-based global frozen food trader, to provide processed shrimps that will fortify its exports to non-traditional markets.

The arrangement entails Gemini Sea Food processing the raw shrimp and forwarding them to Lenk for export, with full payment made in advance to Gemini.

According to a regulatory filing on Tuesday, the deal will result in a substantial increase of over Tk 500 million in revenue for Gemini Sea Food, as it enters into significant nonconventional markets.

AFM Nazrul Islam, the company secretary, said that both parties have agreed to work hand in hand to broaden their scope of business and penetrate non-traditional global markets, thus improving the peripheral backward linkage of their businesses.

According to Nazrul Islam, Lenk will assist Gemini Sea Food in exporting to markets yet to be reached by the local seafood exporter. With this strategic partnership, Gemini Sea Food is poised to expand its reach and cement its position in the seafood industry.

Gemini has been the pioneer in exporting certified organic shrimp from Bangladesh to EU retailers since 2008. The company also exports products to Canada, the USA and Japan.

"To increase our business growth, we focused on the EU market where the export contribution of Bangladeshi shrimp is around 85 per cent," said Mr Islam.

Gemini Sea Food's export turnover stood at Tk 726.50 million in FY22. Of it, 58 per cent was to the EU market, 18 per cent to Canada, 13 per cent to the USA and 11 per cent to Japan.

Gemini Sea Food also accounted for 56 per cent of the country's total shrimp exports in FY22. Shrimp export in Bangladesh increased by 24 per cent year-on-year to $407 million in FY22, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).

"We also exported the highest number of consignments to Japan in the history of Gemini Sea Food in the last fiscal year," the company secretary said.

Gemini Sea Food is also working to expand its business into the growing local frozen food market, he said.

The company will add a new line of frozen food to produce chicken nuggets, sausage, meatballs, fish-balls, shrimp balls, fish fingers, paratha and other items to penetrate the local market.

Meanwhile, the listed shrimp exporters' net profit jumped more than 17 times high year-on-year to Tk 58.66 million in FY22.

Based on the stunning profits growth, the company declared a 10 per cent cash and 30 per cent stock dividend, the highest in five years since 2017 when it paid 125 per cent stock.

The Khulna-based company's net profit also rose 79 per cent year-on-year to Tk 43.36 million in the first half of FY23.

"We are also getting new export orders amid growing demand for shrimp in the post-pandemic period," Islam said.

He commented that a strong dollar against the Taka and the government's cash incentives against the exports also helped attain higher profit growth.

Listed in 1985, the company's stock price rose 3.26 per cent to close at Tk 491.40 on Tuesday.

There are 162 fish processing plants in the country, of which 78 are approved by the Bangladesh government and 66 by the European Union (EU).

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