The country's apex frozen food exporters association has sought permission to export the national fish Hilsa, considering its potential to bring home more export earnings.
Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association (BFFEA) on Wednesday requested the commerce ministry to provide the facility to its members, licensed by the Department of Fisheries.
In the last one decade, the annual Hilsa production has increased around 79 per cent in the country and the average production growth is about 6.2 per cent, according to the BFFEA.
The country produced 0.533 million tonnes of Hilsa in the 2018-19 fiscal year; if the government permits exporting only 5.0 per cent or 27.5 tonnes of the total, this won't hamper the local market, the association said in a letter.
Currently, buyers demand importing Hilsa as a mixed item with frozen shrimp and other fish items.
The importers generally cancel the demand orders and import frozen shrimp and other fish items from other countries if the country's frozen food exporters decline to export Hilsa, according to the association document.
As a result, the country is now being deprived of a large amount of export earnings, the document noted.
The ban on export of Hilsa fish has been effective since 2021 for fulfilling the country's overall demand, Kazi Belayet Hossain, managing director of Sobi Fish Processing Ind. Ltd, told the FE.
The promising frozen food sector is now in a tight corner due to the Covid-19 pandemic, said the industry insiders.
A high official of the commerce ministry said, "We've just received a letter from the frozen foods exporters association [BFFEA] recently. We will start working on the issue soon."
The demand for luxury food items, especially frozen shrimp and fish, has decreased globally and the cancelled consignments, including prices of products, have also been reduced, an entrepreneur of the sector said.
"We've requested the government to allow export of Hilsa fish, aiming to increase the export volume of the sector," he added.
Currently, there are 76 factories involved in processing shrimp and fish items in the country.
The sector produced more than 0.56-million tonnes of shrimp and other fish items between 2010 and 2020.
