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Bangladesh's once-thriving shrimp sector has been languishing for quite some time and the situation appears to be worsening. Export orders for the country's prime shrimp varieties have continued to fall, driven primarily by waning demand in Europe and the United States-markets that together account for nearly 80 per cent of Bangladesh's shrimp exports. What was once a half-billion-dollar industry has now shrunk to nearly half its former mark, casting uncertainty over a sector that supports livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people.
Bangladesh earned $529 million from shrimp exports in the 2015-16 fiscal year, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB). Since then, exports have fallen sharply and have struggled to recover. Demand shocks in major Western markets, coupled with intensified competition from lower-priced varieties are commonly attributed for the eroding market share. On the other hand, higher prices of Bangladesh's premium shrimp variety-bagda (black tiger)-has made exports vulnerable in recession-hit markets. In the last fiscal year alone, exports declined by 4.26 per cent compared to the previous year.
The impact has been most severe on cultivators in the country's southwestern coastal belt-Bagerhat, Khulna and Satkhira. This belt is the heartland of Bangladesh's shrimp production, supplying the bulk of the high-value bagda shrimp. Bagerhat alone contributes an estimated 30 per cent of the country's export-quality shrimp. Nationwide, shrimp cultivation spans over 250,000 hectares and sustains the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of farmers, workers, and traders. Yet, in the face of declining export demand and falling international prices, cultivators now find themselves compelled to sell their produce domestically at almost half the usual rate. Current export prices for a pound of black tiger shrimp range from $3.80 to $4.10-nearly half of the $7.0 to $7.20 commanded just a year ago.
Industry insiders fear that recovery will not be quick. Europe's persistent financial strains and recessionary pressures in the United States may continue to impede demand, delaying any meaningful revival of Bangladesh's shrimp markets. If these trends persist, the long-term viability of the entire industry could be in jeopardy.
This troubling scenario was a central theme in a recent policy dialogue organised by the Policy Research Institute (PRI) in collaboration with the Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association (BFFEA). Speakers argued that Bangladesh's shrimp industry is at a crossroads and requires urgent, strategic reforms to regain global competitiveness after years of stagnation. Presenting the keynote paper, Dr. Bazlul Haque Khondker, research director at PRI, highlighted how Bangladesh now lags far behind regional competitors such as India, Vietnam and Indonesia-countries that have rapidly transformed their shrimp sectors through innovation, targeted incentives and flexible regulatory frameworks. Unlike these countries, Bangladesh has yet to fully embrace the farming of newer and more commercially viable species like vannamei (white leg shrimp). Its competitors, meanwhile, have benefitted from low-interest financing, bonded warehouse facilities, affordable broodstock imports and other targeted subsidies-support systems largely absent in Bangladesh. To address these gaps, he suggested a set of short-term reforms: extending Export Facilitation Pre-Finance Fund (EFPF) access to shrimp exporters, categorising shrimp under the agro-sector for easier loan rescheduling, removing the 25 per cent duty on Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) broodstock, and improving raw material import systems. He also recommended a two-year transition period for hatcheries to fully adopt SPF fry. For the long term, Dr. Khondker proposed establishing a Tk 25 billion Shrimp Aquaculture Fund offering concessional loans, alongside a Tk 5.0 billion Frozen Foods Exporters Facilitation Fund aimed at supporting export diversification and energy-efficient processing.
Bangladesh Bank governor Dr. Ahsan H Mansur, speaking as special guest, offered an unflinching assessment of the sector's performance. He underscored the huge productivity gap: "If India produces seven tonnes per hectare and Bangladesh produces half a tonne, that reflects a fourteen-fold difference," he said. He warned that financing alone will not solve the sector's systemic weaknesses. While the Bangladesh Bank has already provided generous loan restructuring facilities-with down-payments as low as 1.0-2.0 per cent, grace periods of up to two years and repayment terms extending up to 15 years-future financing must become conditional on measurable improvements in productivity and performance. "The crisis is in production, not processing," he said, stressing the need for stronger disease control systems, varietal improvement and strengthened regulation to ensure long-term sustainability.
Echoing similar concerns, BFFEA Vice President SK Kamrul Alam pointed to the vast discrepancy between India and Bangladesh. While India farms shrimp on 102,000 hectares-less than half of Bangladesh's 250,000 hectares-it produces over one million metric tons of shrimp annually. Bangladesh, by contrast, produces only about 100,000 metric tons of bagda shrimp. India's advantage stems largely from its large-scale production of Vannamei shrimp. Although Bangladesh received approval to cultivate Vannamei several years ago, commercial-scale production and export have yet to begin. Alam argued that adopting Vannamei across suitable areas could help Bangladesh break its current export deadlock.
The message from industry stakeholders is clear: Bangladesh's shrimp sector holds immense potential, but this potential remains greatly underutilised. Reviving the industry will require more than temporary relief measures-it demands a coherent, forward-looking strategy that aligns production practices with evolving global market dynamics. With the right combination of policy support, technological adoption and regulatory reform, the sector can once again reclaim its position as a dynamic contributor to the national economy.