E-Bangladesh Desk

A significant share of Bangladesh’s animal protein supply comes from fish, making the fisheries sector a crucial pillar of the country’s food and nutritional security. At the same time, the sector is becoming increasingly important for rural employment, household incomes, economic activity and foreign trade.

Bangladesh produced around 5.018 million metric tonnes of fish in fiscal year 2023-24, while exports of fish and fish products generated approximately Tk45.3186 billion in foreign exchange. Aquaculture accounted for nearly 60% of the country’s total fish production during the period.

Despite the large scale of domestic production, Bangladesh’s fish exports remain relatively modest compared with the sector’s overall potential. Industry experts and stakeholders believe the country could turn fisheries into one of its next major export industries if it moves beyond simply producing more fish and focuses on generating greater value from every kilogramme.

That transformation will require improvements across the entire fisheries value chain, including production, quality control, disease management, cold-chain infrastructure, processing, traceability, technology, branding and international market development.

Production Growth Alone Is Not Enough

The fisheries sector has already achieved substantial growth in Bangladesh. A large proportion of the country’s fish is now produced through aquaculture, while farmed fish has become an important source of affordable animal protein for millions of people.

However, increasing production alone will not automatically lead to a major increase in exports.

The next stage of development will depend on whether Bangladesh can improve the quality of its products and convert a larger portion of its fish into high-value processed food. International buyers increasingly demand food safety, reliable supply chains, traceable products and compliance with strict quality standards.

This means quality must be ensured at every stage, from hatcheries and farms to collection centres, storage facilities, processing plants, laboratories and ports.

Fisheries and Livestock Minister Mohammad Amin Ur Rashid has also emphasised the importance of expanding international markets alongside increasing production. He has highlighted preservation, research and market development as important areas for the future of the sector.

The minister has also stressed the importance of long-term, science-based planning for hilsa and other valuable fish species while calling for greater efforts to expand their international markets.

Farmers Need to Become Part of the Export Value Chain

One of the most important changes Bangladesh needs to make is to establish stronger links between fish farmers and exporters or processors.

A large number of farmers operate on a small or medium scale and face challenges related to finance, quality fingerlings, feed costs, diseases, water quality, market uncertainty and natural disasters.

Providing easier access to finance, fish insurance, quality fingerlings, improved feed management, disease-control services and technical assistance could help farmers reduce production costs and improve product quality.

Sakif Shamim, chairman of the Centre for Strategic and Economic Research (CSER) and managing director of LabAid Hospital Group, has described fisheries as both a major source of food security and a promising export-oriented sector.

He has suggested that Bangladesh Bank and commercial banks introduce specialised lending facilities for fisheries alongside efforts to expand production.

He also stressed the importance of monitoring the quality of fish fingerlings and feed and preventing adulteration.

According to him, e-traceability will also be essential for Bangladesh’s fish exports. Information about a fish product—from its farm of origin and feed history to harvesting, storage, processing and export—should be recorded and verified digitally.

Contract-based production between farmers and processing companies could also provide farmers with greater market certainty while helping processors maintain consistent export-quality standards.

Moving From Frozen Fish to Value-Added Products

Bangladesh has considerable scope to increase export earnings by shifting from relatively basic frozen products to processed and ready-to-eat seafood.

Products such as peeled and deveined shrimp, fish fillets, portion-cut fish, seasoned or coated seafood, cooked shrimp, ready-to-cook fish and ready-to-eat products can command substantially higher prices in international markets.

Instead of exporting one kilogramme of fish as a basic frozen commodity, processing it into a consumer-ready product can significantly increase its economic value.

This is where Bangladesh’s next major opportunity lies.

However, value addition requires investment in modern processing plants, cold storage, refrigerated transportation, food-testing laboratories, packaging facilities and efficient port services.

A weakness anywhere in the chain can affect the entire export system. Poor storage, inadequate transportation, insufficient laboratory capacity or delays at ports can reduce product quality and damage the reputation of Bangladeshi seafood in international markets.

Cold-Chain Infrastructure Is Critical

A modern fisheries export industry cannot develop without a reliable cold chain.

Fish is highly perishable, making temperature control essential from the farm to the final consumer. Bangladesh therefore needs more modern cold-storage facilities, refrigerated vehicles, efficient collection centres and internationally compliant processing plants.

Better cold-chain infrastructure would not only help exporters meet international standards but could also reduce post-harvest losses and improve returns for farmers.

Fast and reliable port services will also be important as Bangladesh seeks to compete with established seafood-exporting countries.

Digital Technology Could Transform Fish Farming

Technology is expected to play a growing role in the future of Bangladesh’s fisheries sector.

Low-cost digital sensors can monitor critical water-quality indicators such as temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH and ammonia. Automated feeding systems can reduce feed wastage, while digital farm-management tools can help farmers monitor production more efficiently.

Disease-detection technologies could also reduce fish mortality and improve farm productivity.

In the future, artificial intelligence and data analytics could help larger farms make more accurate decisions about feeding, water quality, disease prevention and production planning.

However, expensive technology is unlikely to be accessible to Bangladesh’s large population of small-scale farmers.

One possible solution is a cooperative or technology-as-a-service model, under which groups of farmers could jointly access water-testing equipment, disease-detection services and other digital technologies.

Such a system could reduce individual costs while allowing smaller producers to benefit from modern farming technologies.

Climate Change Creates New Risks

Climate change is another major challenge for Bangladesh’s fisheries industry.

Coastal areas are increasingly exposed to salinity, cyclones and tidal surges. Rising temperatures and changes in water quality can also affect fish growth, reproduction and disease patterns.

For shrimp and fish farmers, these changes can create significant production risks.

Investment in climate-resilient species, improved hatcheries, disease-prevention systems and sustainable farming techniques will therefore become increasingly important.

Research should also focus on developing high-value species, improved fingerlings and technologies that can increase production efficiency while reducing feed requirements and environmental pressure.

Climate adaptation should no longer be considered a separate issue. It needs to become an integral part of Bangladesh’s long-term fisheries strategy.

Stronger Quality Control and Traceability Needed

International market expansion will depend heavily on Bangladesh’s ability to meet strict food-safety standards.

Dr Md Khaled Kanak, director general (acting) of the Department of Fisheries, has stressed the importance of quality control in fish exports.

Production volume alone cannot guarantee access to international markets. Exporters must ensure food safety, control harmful residues, maintain hygienic processing practices and conduct reliable laboratory testing.

Digital traceability can help address many of these challenges.

For example, an export consignment should be linked digitally to information about the farm where the fish was produced, the feed used, harvesting dates, storage conditions and the processing facility where the product was packaged.

Such information would allow international buyers and regulators to verify the history of a product and increase confidence in Bangladeshi seafood.

Bangladesh Needs a Strong Global Fish Brand

Bangladesh already exports fish and fish products to more than 50 countries. The European Union, the United States, Japan, China and Russia are among the major markets.

Shrimp remains the country’s leading fish export, but there is significant potential for freshwater prawns, crab, marine fish, coral, pangasius, tilapia and processed seafood products.

At the same time, Bangladesh should look beyond its traditional markets.

The Middle East, China, Japan, South Korea and other North American markets offer opportunities, but consumer preferences differ considerably from one market to another.

Some markets may have stronger demand for halal-certified ready-to-cook seafood, while others may prefer premium shrimp, fish fillets or ready-to-eat products.

Therefore, Bangladesh should develop market-specific seafood products instead of attempting to sell identical products in every market.

The country also needs to establish a distinctive “Bangladeshi Fish Products” brand that represents quality, safety, traceability and reliability.

Financing Must Become More Fisheries-Focused

Access to finance remains a major challenge for fish farmers and small entrepreneurs.

Fisheries should not be viewed merely as a small component of conventional agricultural lending. It should increasingly be treated as a complete business value chain with opportunities for farming, processing, storage, transportation, packaging and exports.

Financial institutions could develop lending schemes based on production capacity and expected income rather than relying exclusively on conventional collateral requirements.

Fish insurance could also help farmers manage losses caused by disease, extreme weather and other production risks.

At the industrial level, private investment and public-private partnerships could support the development of modern processing plants, cold storage facilities, laboratories and logistics infrastructure.

A Coordinated National Strategy Is Needed

The government’s role should primarily be to create an environment in which farmers, processors, exporters and investors can operate efficiently.

A coordinated framework involving the Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Commerce, Export Promotion Bureau, research institutions, banks, private-sector processors and fish farmers would help align production with export objectives.

Research investment should also increase to support advanced hatchery technology, disease prevention, climate-resilient aquaculture and the development of high-value fish species.

At the same time, Bangladesh will need more skilled farm managers, fisheries technicians, food technologists, laboratory professionals and export-quality specialists.

A Three-Stage Roadmap for the Fisheries Sector

Bangladesh’s fisheries transformation could be pursued through three broad stages.

First, the production system needs to be strengthened. Farmers should receive better access to finance, quality fingerlings, modern feed, technology, disease-control services, training and climate-adaptation measures.

Second, the country needs to develop the industrial infrastructure required for exports. This includes modern processing facilities, cold storage, refrigerated transportation, laboratories, quality certification systems and digital traceability.

Third, Bangladesh should concentrate on value-added products, market diversification and international branding.

The objective should not simply be to export more fish. The greater goal should be to generate more economic value from every kilogramme of fish while ensuring that a larger share of that value reaches farmers, businesses and the national economy.

Fisheries Could Become Bangladesh’s Next Export Engine

Bangladesh has already built a large fisheries production base. Fish contributes significantly to national nutrition, rural livelihoods and employment, while aquaculture has become an increasingly important component of overall production.

The next challenge is to transform that production strength into an internationally competitive export industry.

If Bangladesh can successfully connect farmers with processors, improve financing, introduce affordable technology, strengthen climate resilience, ensure food safety, develop modern cold-chain infrastructure and expand value-added processing, the fisheries sector could move far beyond its traditional role as a source of domestic food.

The country has an opportunity to shift from exporting relatively low-value frozen commodities to exporting branded, processed and traceable seafood products.

Such a transformation could create new employment, increase rural incomes, attract investment and generate significantly more foreign exchange.

Ultimately, the key question for Bangladesh’s fisheries sector is no longer simply how much fish the country can produce. It is how much value the country can create from that production.

With a coordinated strategy linking farmers, technology, research, finance, processing industries and global markets, Bangladesh’s fisheries sector has the potential to become the country’s next major export industry—and possibly the foundation of a new export revolution.