Assessment of Shrimp Supply Chain and Development of a Framework for Its Simplification

Abstract

Within the overall agro-based economy of Bangladesh, the shrimp sector plays the most crucial role in generating foreign exchange. The sector represents the second largest export earner after garments which encompassed 2.73% of total export during 2010-2011. The present study aims to explore the detail summary of shrimp supply chain and development of a framework for narrowing the gaps between producers and exporters. A total of 342 interviews, four Focus Group Discussions (FGD) and two case studies were conducted in Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat and Cox's Bazar districts of Bangladesh. A complex shrimp supply chain has found which varies from region to region of Bangladesh. In this supply chain various intermediaries are involved from producers to exporters as faria, depot owner, aratdar, party/paiker, commission agent (account holder) and finally processor. These intermediaries perform an important function injecting informal credit into the supply chain that faces substantial credit constraints at the lower end of the chain and promoting tied transaction. The proposed simplified framework which deals with farmers to exporters through depot owners will facilitate the fair trade in shrimp supply sector and ensure the quality as well as proper profit distribution among the stakeholders.