Frozen food exports fetch $500m in 10 months
Naim-Ul-Karim | Wednesday, 18 June 2008
The country fetched nearly half a billion U.S. dollar in the first ten months of outgoing fiscal from frozen foods exports despite external and domestic odds.
In the first ten months of the current fiscal, Bangladesh's exports earning from frozen foods was over $449 million, representing a 6.74 per cent growth over that in the same period of the last fiscal.
During the first ten months of the current fiscal, the export earning from frozen foods, however, fell short of the target by 7.80 per cent due mainly to slowdown of US economy which sharply affected shrimp consumption and prices.
"Prices of shrimp dropped by at least one U.S. dollar per pound due to poor demand of the food item in US market," Quazi Belayet Hossain, president of Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters (BFFEA), told the FE Tuesday.
He could not tell the exact quantity of shrimp export to US market in the first ten months of the current fiscal but said it accounts for at least one third of the country's total frozen foods exports.
"We are now trying to boost our export to EU market which consumes 48-50 per cent of total export of frozen foods. Of which, shrimp exports contribute 90-92 per cent," he said.
Quazi said European consumers refrained themselves from buying Bangladeshi shrimps in normal quantities for the past two to three months following a EU report on the existence of nitrophuran in the Bangladeshi food item.
Frozen food exports will exceed or meet its export target set at $600 million for the current fiscal, Quazi said.
In the first ten months of the current fiscal, Bangladesh's exports earning from frozen foods was over $449 million, representing a 6.74 per cent growth over that in the same period of the last fiscal.
During the first ten months of the current fiscal, the export earning from frozen foods, however, fell short of the target by 7.80 per cent due mainly to slowdown of US economy which sharply affected shrimp consumption and prices.
"Prices of shrimp dropped by at least one U.S. dollar per pound due to poor demand of the food item in US market," Quazi Belayet Hossain, president of Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters (BFFEA), told the FE Tuesday.
He could not tell the exact quantity of shrimp export to US market in the first ten months of the current fiscal but said it accounts for at least one third of the country's total frozen foods exports.
"We are now trying to boost our export to EU market which consumes 48-50 per cent of total export of frozen foods. Of which, shrimp exports contribute 90-92 per cent," he said.
Quazi said European consumers refrained themselves from buying Bangladeshi shrimps in normal quantities for the past two to three months following a EU report on the existence of nitrophuran in the Bangladeshi food item.
Frozen food exports will exceed or meet its export target set at $600 million for the current fiscal, Quazi said.