Cox's Bazar dried-fish market in slump with BDT 50m unsold stock
Dhaka: Dried-fish traders at Nazirartek in Cox's Bazar are struggling with unsold stock worth at least BDT 50 million as customers stay away and production at nearby processing yards grinds to a halt, according to media reports.
The market has at least 45 shops selling a wide range of dried fish, including ribbonfish, Bombay duck, jewfish, croaker, and king mackerel. During a recent visit, however, few buyers were seen at the market, and shop employees were sitting idle.
A shop manager said daily sales, which once reached BDT 50,000, have fallen to BDT 3,000 to BDT 3,500. Several other shops, each holding stock worth BDT 700,000 to BDT 2 million, reported similarly sluggish business.
Some traders said they took out bank loans to stock up, expecting a shortage in the market. With sales drying up, they now face difficulty repaying the loans and covering operating costs.
Tourists visiting Cox's Bazar are the main customers of the market. Traders said the poor condition of about two kilometers of road leading to Nazirartek, particularly in the Samitipara, Kutub Bazar, and Paschim Kutubdiapara areas, is discouraging visitors.
According to the traders, some shops were selling dried fish worth BDT 50,000 to BDT 200,000 a day as recently as 15 days ago. Daily sales have since dropped to between BDT 3,000 and BDT 20,000.
Mohammad Shamim Al Imran, Administrator of Cox's Bazar Municipality and Deputy Director of Local Government Division, said the municipality does not have enough funds to repair the damaged road sections.
He said an initiative has been taken to renovate the road with financing from the World Bank. A survey has been completed, and repair work will begin as soon as the funding is secured.
Drying yards shut down
The slump in sales has come alongside a sharp fall in production. According to people involved in the industry, more than 600 dried-fish processing yards along the Nazirartek coast, in Ward No. 1 of the municipality, have suspended operations.
They said fish catches in the sea have remained below expectations for over six months. Government restrictions on fishing have made the situation worse.
The shutdown has hit the livelihoods of around 30,000 dried-fish workers. About 120,000 fishermen and workers linked to 6,000 fishing trawlers are also under pressure.
During a recent visit, only three yards were found drying small quantities of ribbonfish. Workers said the fish had been bought from Chattogram's Fisheryghat before the fishing ban came into effect and kept in cold storage.
At one of the few operating yards, more than 60 bamboo drying racks were empty, and only two held fish. Six workers, a woman and five children and adolescents, were present. The owner said the yard once employed more than 40 workers.
Male workers there are paid BDT 800 a day, while women earn between BDT 500 and BDT 600. With production suspended, most workers have lost their jobs.
Many workers had come to the area after losing their homes to climate-related disasters. One woman who has worked at the yards for 25 years said she and her daughter found work on only four days in October, earning BDT 4,000 in total.
She said the money was not enough to buy food for 10 days, and the family goes hungry when there is no work.
Akhtar Kamal, a former councillor of Ward No. 1, said the yards remained closed even though it was the peak season. He said more than 30,000 people, including over 12,000 female workers, had lost their livelihoods.
Fears of deeper crisis
The president of the Cox's Bazar Shutki Processing Traders Cooperative Association said production had been disrupted at more than 600 yards in coastal areas, including Nazirartek, Nuniachhara, and Mogchitapara.
He said dried fish worth more than BDT 4 billion was produced at the yards last year. In the first 10 months of this year, production was worth about BDT 2 billion. He warned of a further collapse if catches do not improve.
According to the District Fisheries Office, over 31,000 metric tons of dried fish were produced in Cox's Bazar during the first eight months of the current fiscal year, from July to February. Total production over 12 months in the previous fiscal year stood at 48,285 metric tons.
District Fisheries Officer Nazmul Huda said climate change, overfishing, and other factors have reduced fish availability. He stressed that compliance with government fishing restrictions is essential to conserving marine resources.
He acknowledged that the fish shortage is cutting dried-fish production. He added that the authorities are investigating the factors behind the decline.
