Shrimp farming in Southwestern Bangladesh: a case study of economic impacts during COVID-19

Abstract

Bangladesh is endowed with a long coastline and therefore offers the enormous potential of marine wealth. In the coastal part of Bangladesh, shrimp is one of the most important export-oriented aquacultures due to high-profit return on the same value. Shrimp farming contributes significantly to the livelihoods of rural Bangladeshis in the southwestern region. It is critical to be aware of current culture practices and the measures shrimp farmers take to sustain the trend of exporting shrimp around the world. A random sampling was done of shrimp farmers in the Batiaghata Upazila of Khulna district to learn about the current state of shrimp farming and the challenges they are faced during COVID-19. The recent study reveals that most farmers following semi-intensive monoculture practice, application of organic sources in the shrimp pond, selection of PCR tested hatchery-produced Post Larvae (PL) and maintaining good hygiene practice that delivered considerable production of shrimp in this area. But in addition, with these good production farmers also face some difficulties. Some major shrimp diseases were identified in this study including White Feces Disease (WFD), White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV), Eosinophilia-Myalgia Syndrome (EMS), Black Gill Disease and some parasite attacks like Zutharium. Lower market price, flood and mortality are other constraints for shrimp farming. The low market price is the major issue for shrimp farmers nowadays around this pandemic situation. As a result, the government, donor agencies, planners, academics, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) should come forward during the pandemic periods to assist farmers in resolving challenges and ensuring shrimp export revenues of Bangladesh are sustainable. Asian J. Med. Biol. Res. 2021, 7 (3), 273-283

Estimating the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on alternative semi-intensive shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) production schedules in Mexico: a stochastic bioeconomic approach

“…Rafiquzzaman ( 2020 ), Islam et al ( 2021 ), and Lebel et al ( 2021 ) reported similar situations for Bangladesh and the Mekong Region, where the lockdown forced by the pandemic led to consumption and price reduction of aquaculture products. During the pandemic, the low market shrimp price has been deemed the major issue for shrimp farmers in Southwestern Bangladesh (Akter and Khan, 2021 ). However, this investigation found that during the pandemic, shrimp prices recovered in November and exceeded those observed in the previous years.…”

“…A sectoral assessment of the pandemic impact on aquaculture in India was conducted by Kumaran et al ( 2021 ). Akter and Khan ( 2021 ) showed shrimp farming as a case study of the pandemic economic impacts on southwestern Bangladesh.…”

Effect of Covid-19 Pandemic on Shrimp Farming at Navsari, Gujarat, India

“…Respondents faced these problems mainly due to restriction in importing seed production, the supply of farm inputs, processing and marketing of shrimp. According to [20] investigated the most common issue of low market pricing which was the source of concern for shrimp farmers, especially in the wake of the pandemic similarly shrimp prices in the local and worldwide markets fluctuate dramatically because of inconsistencies in the supply chain [21]. On the other hand, consumers are paying more money for aquatic products but dealers pay less to buy these products from farmers [22].…”