Sharp fall in tiger shrimp prices have driven Bagerhat prawn cultivators to desperation in the face of impending losses, according to bd24news.com.
The prices of the shrimps (also called 'white gold') have fallen by Tk 400 to 500 per kilogram.
Moreover, the farmers have been selling their yields to depots on credit for the past three months.
The Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association (BFFEA) has blamed falling prices and demand for the shrimps abroad for the tough situation back home.
Depot owners and cultivators at 'Barakpur Matsya Arat', the major storehouse for buying and selling of shrimps in Bagerhat, have urged for government measures to protect the stakeholders in the industry.
Traders at the Barakpur storehouse already owe the farmers several millions, as prices for all grades of tiger shrimps experience steep fall in the current season.
In three months, Grade-15 shrimp process has fallen from Tk 1,300 to Tk 800, Grade-20 from Tk 1,100 to Tk 700, Grade-30 from Tk 850 to Tk 600, Grade-44 from Tk 600 to Tk 400 and Grade-66 from Tk 450 to Tk 200.
Dipankar Baroi, a prawn cultivator from Rampal, was in Barakpur to sell the shrimps he cultivated on 13 bighas of land.
"I first sold tiger shrimps for up to Tk 1,200 and now it's down to Tk 600."
Shrimp cultivator Abdus Sattar from Bagerhat Sadar upazila's Dema village said he had cultivated the fish on 20 bighas of land. At the beginning of the season he got better prices for his yields, but during the last three months the price has come down by half.
Shahjalal Shrimp Depot owner Yousuf Hossain said the exporters' association (BFFEA) has claimed that the fall in tiger shrimp's price was due to less demand in the international market.
According to Bagerhat Shrimp Cultivators' Association President Fakir Mahitul Islam, about 70 per cent of the people in the district are involved in the shrimp business.
A virus infestation in shrimps hit the cultivators at the beginning of this season, but that was dealt with and the yield then got good prices before experiencing a huge slump in the last three months, he told the news agency.
According to the Fisheries Department of Bagerhat, shrimps were cultivated on about 70,000 hectares of land this year.
District Fisheries Officer Narayan Chandra Mandal told the news agency that the annual target of this year's shrimp production was set at 15,271 tonnes.
Barakpur Shrimp Depot Owners Association's acting President Habibur Rahman echoed the fisheries officer's view saying that exporters' agent cited fall in price and demand in international market behind the situation.
