Shrimp industry needs policy overhaul to boost competitiveness: Experts
Business Report :
Experts have highlighted the urgent need for policy reforms to restore competitiveness in Bangladesh’s shrimp industry, which continues to lag behind regional peers such as India, Vietnam, and Indonesia in productivity, value addition, and sector-specific incentives.
The Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI), in collaboration with the Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association (BFFEA), hosted a policy dialogue titled “Transforming Policy Support for Reviving Bangladesh’s Shrimp Sector” at the InterContinental Dhaka on Wednesday, 2025.
The event brought together policymakers, industry leaders, and experts to discuss short- and long-term measures for sector revitalization.
Bazlul Haque Khondker, research director at PRI, presented the keynote paper, noting that while peer countries offer low-interest loans, insurance, bonded warehouses, and subsidies, Bangladesh’s support system remains limited. High duties on broodstock and restricted financing are major constraints.
To revive the sector, Khondker recommended short-term measures such as including shrimp exporters under the Export Facilitation Pre-Finance Fund (EFPF), classifying shrimp under the agro-sector for loan rescheduling, removing the 25 percent duty on SPF broodstock, and providing government excavation support to improve farming systems.
Long-term proposals included establishing a Tk2,500 crore Shrimp Aquaculture Fund to provide easy-term loans and a Tk500 crore Frozen Foods Exporters Facilitation Fund to support product diversification and energy-efficient technology upgrades.
Other priorities highlighted were declaring shrimp a priority crop in key coastal districts, setting up third-party quality-testing laboratories, introducing NSDA-supported training programs, and expanding aquaculture using newly silted land.
Khondker cautioned that achieving the $1.45 billion export target by 2030, requiring annual growth of 22 percent, would be “highly ambitious.”
Farida Akhter, Adviser to the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock and chief guest of the event, stressed the importance of reducing discrimination in subsidy and incentive policies for the shrimp sector.
She announced a 20 percent electricity bill rebate for the industry and expressed optimism about establishing a specialized Fisheries and Livestock Bank.
Ahsan H Mansur, governor of Bangladesh Bank, called for “major reorganization and stronger monitoring” in the shrimp sector, urging proactive government action on disease management, varietal improvement, and governance.
The program opened with a sector overview video, followed by remarks from Mohammad Shahjahan Choudhury, president of BFFEA, who expressed hopes of tripling exports by 2030. Iqbal Ahmed OBE, chairman & managing director of Seamark (BD) Ltd., delivered a summary of the discussions. Additional participants included Md Enam Chowdhury, president of the Bangladesh Marine Fisheries Association, and Md Abdur Rouf, director general of the Department of Fisheries.