Bangladesh is losing around Tk 40 million per day due to the ban on export of live mud crab and eel fish to China, industry insiders have said.
While the exporters are at stake as a result, they said, a good number of extremely poor people of the coastal areas, who were involved with the sector, have been passing through a hard time - sometimes without any food.
To overcome the situation, the exporters urged the government to withdraw the ban soon, officials said.
The live and chilled food exporters' association has recently written a letter to the commerce ministry to take next course of action in this regard.
They feared that the buyers of live mud crab and eel fish of China might cancel their order if the ban on export of such items is not lifted within next seven days or the earliest by the authorities concerned.
The leaders of the association met with the secretary of livestock and fisheries ministry on July 29 last. A committee was formed to resolve the existing problems and the secretary instructed the officials concerned to resume export of the items within 10 working days.
Over one month of time has already been passed, but the instruction is yet to be implemented, according to the letter.
Meanwhile, the commercial counsellor of Bangladesh Embassy in China informed the authorities concerned through e-mail that there is no obstacle now to export live mud crab and eel fish to china.
The exporters alleged that the resumption of export of the items is not being possible due to non-cooperation by several officials of the Department of Fisheries (DoF), a source said.
The officials of the department have showed reluctance in providing required information in this regard, they added.
"We are providing all kinds of necessary information to the exporters when they seek," a high official of the DoF said, however. The allegation about non-cooperation is not right, he added.
Currently, the ministry and department concerned are working on the issue.
Generally, live mud crab and eel fish are exported only by air.
Earlier, China has imposed a ban on import of live mud crab and eel fish from Bangladesh as health hazardous bacteria were found in some consignments along with forged salubrity certificates.
In a letter, Plant and Animal Quarantine Department of General Administration of China Customs (GACC) conveyed the decision on the temporary ban on import of the goods to the Bangladesh embassy in Beijing.
The government's department concerned has already taken necessary measures to stop export of live mud crab and eel fish from Bangladesh to China.
To this effect, the DoF stopped issuing salubrity certificates to the exporters of such items from July 10, 2020.
The agency also asked the commissioner of customs at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport not to give permission for exporting live mud crab and eel fish.
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