Frozen food sector suffers Tk 4b loss
Wednesday, 21 November 2007
FHM Humayan Kabir
Exporters and businessmen have claimed a loss of over Tk 4.0 billion in the country's frozen food sector due to recent devastating cyclone Sidr that hit the southwestern costal shrimp farming areas.
They also feared the export earnings might fall short of target this fiscal due to the damage caused to the sector by the cyclone.
The loss might exceed the preliminary assessment of Tk 4.0 billion as reports on the damage to shrimp firms in the cyclone-hit areas are still coming, said the President of the Bangladesh Frozen Food Exporters' Association (BFFEA), Kazi Belayet Hossain.
Hundreds of shrimp production fields in some coastal areas, including Bagerhat, Morrelganj, Mongla, Khulna, Satkhira and Barguna, have been washed away by the cyclone SIDR Thursday last.
Belayet Hossain, who returned to Dhaka Tuesday, after visiting the affected areas in Khulna told the FE that the devastating cyclone might cause losses worth Tk 3.0-Tk 4.0 billion to the frozen food sector.
"Thousands of ghers (shrimp firming fields), some fish processing factories and their backup units have been affected badly due to the Sidr," he lamented.
The BFFEA president said around 70 per cent of shrimp is supplied from the Bagerhat, Morrelganj, Mongla, Khulna and Satkhira areas.
Belayet Hossain said: "Most of frozen-food processing companies had given over Tk 1.0 billion in advance to the shrimp farmers in the costal belts for cultivating and supplying the fish. But the farmers have been affected seriously by the Sidr, and now it will be difficult for them to supply shrimp as well as repay the fund."
Shimul, a shrimp cultivator in the Rampal Upazila under Bagerhat district told the FE that thousands of ghers (fish firming field) have been washed away by the Sidr leaving the farmers helpless.
"Most of us took loans from the entrepreneurs or NGOs or nationalised commercial banks to cultivate the shrimps. There is no money left with us to resume the shrimp cultivation again," he said.
Senior Vice-President of the BFEEA, Maksudur Rahman said the destruction by the cyclone is another blow at a time when the frozen food industry is facing difficulties in exporting frozen food to the European Union (EU) and US markets, hit by economic-slowdown due to high food and oil prices.
Exporters and businessmen have claimed a loss of over Tk 4.0 billion in the country's frozen food sector due to recent devastating cyclone Sidr that hit the southwestern costal shrimp farming areas.
They also feared the export earnings might fall short of target this fiscal due to the damage caused to the sector by the cyclone.
The loss might exceed the preliminary assessment of Tk 4.0 billion as reports on the damage to shrimp firms in the cyclone-hit areas are still coming, said the President of the Bangladesh Frozen Food Exporters' Association (BFFEA), Kazi Belayet Hossain.
Hundreds of shrimp production fields in some coastal areas, including Bagerhat, Morrelganj, Mongla, Khulna, Satkhira and Barguna, have been washed away by the cyclone SIDR Thursday last.
Belayet Hossain, who returned to Dhaka Tuesday, after visiting the affected areas in Khulna told the FE that the devastating cyclone might cause losses worth Tk 3.0-Tk 4.0 billion to the frozen food sector.
"Thousands of ghers (shrimp firming fields), some fish processing factories and their backup units have been affected badly due to the Sidr," he lamented.
The BFFEA president said around 70 per cent of shrimp is supplied from the Bagerhat, Morrelganj, Mongla, Khulna and Satkhira areas.
Belayet Hossain said: "Most of frozen-food processing companies had given over Tk 1.0 billion in advance to the shrimp farmers in the costal belts for cultivating and supplying the fish. But the farmers have been affected seriously by the Sidr, and now it will be difficult for them to supply shrimp as well as repay the fund."
Shimul, a shrimp cultivator in the Rampal Upazila under Bagerhat district told the FE that thousands of ghers (fish firming field) have been washed away by the Sidr leaving the farmers helpless.
"Most of us took loans from the entrepreneurs or NGOs or nationalised commercial banks to cultivate the shrimps. There is no money left with us to resume the shrimp cultivation again," he said.
Senior Vice-President of the BFEEA, Maksudur Rahman said the destruction by the cyclone is another blow at a time when the frozen food industry is facing difficulties in exporting frozen food to the European Union (EU) and US markets, hit by economic-slowdown due to high food and oil prices.