Kuakata dry fish zone reel from pandemic

The 50-year old Shutki Palli, traditional dry fish processing zone, at Kuakata of Patuakhali continue to reel from the Covid-19 fallouts and it witnessed its worst year in living memory failing to sell their products in time.

The producers and traders living in the area are passing their days in despair, as they failed to supply their products to market chain for the Covid-induced lockdown and other restrictions.

According to the District Fisheries Office, Kuakata Shutki Palli earns Tk 150 crore to Tk 200 crore of revenue from exporting dried. They also sell dried fish in the local markets and around the country.

Septembers to March is the peak season for fish processing and drying.

The traders said despite selling out most of their production in 2019-2020, they faced a loss worth Tk 10 to Tk 15 crore. And this year, the situation is worse as producers and traders failed to supply their products to the market for lack of transports and the fish the stored in cold storages were getting perished.

As back-to-back lockdowns are continuing for months amid worsening Covid situation, over 5,000 people involved in the trade are anticipating a loss worth Tk 100 crore by the end this year.

Rejaul Karim a dried fish trader in the area, said that they had already suffered a loss of Tk 40 crore to Tk 45 crore in the past five months for failing to export dried fish abroad and supply those across the country.

Traders who preserved a large stack of dried fish across the district are facing a loss, as a large portion of their products got spoiled amid the lockdown, the producers told The Business Post.

When visited the area, this correspondent found, people in the Shutki Palli busy processing dried fish even amid the lockdown. They sort these fish into different categories, remove dirt, clean them, and dry them under the sun.

They prepare these fish following three methods; by sun-drying, salting, and smoking, the producers said.

Nizam Uddin, a local dried fish trader, told The Business Post that he faced a loss of Tk 8 lakh in the last season, and if he fails to sell the dried fish in his stock this year, he will lose his capital.

“I have invested a lot in the business. The local demand for dried fish is not enough to run our businesses. Most of the revenue we earn is from the export we make every year,” he said.

“The global pandemic ruined us as we could not export our products, hence, facing a huge loss,” he added.

Echoing Nizman, stockist Md Sultan Ahmed, told The Business Post many dried fish in his stock got staled for the extended lockdown and transportation problem.

Senior Fisheries Officer of Kalapara upazila, Apu Saha told The Business Post, “Whereas the dried fish businesses in other region is being questioned because of excessive toxic preservative uses, the safe and naturally produced dried fish of Kuakata is popular among its consumers.”

“However, this year, the sector is facing a huge drawback due to the pandemic and we are trying to bring the producers, traders of dried fish under government incentive packages so that we can assist them,” he also said.

Deputy Commissioner of Patuakhali Md Kamal Hossain told The Business Post that the sector requires modernisation to survive.