Fisheries, livestock sector to get 20% electricity bill rebate soon: Adviser Farida
The announcement will come very soon, she says
A long-awaited 20% rebate on electricity bills for the fisheries and livestock sector is now at the final stage of approval, Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhtar said yesterday (3 December).
Speaking as chief guest at a seminar in the capital, the adviser said fisheries and livestock have long faced discrimination despite being major food-producing sectors.
The seminar titled "Transforming Policy Support for Revitalising Bangladesh's Shrimp Sector" was jointly organised by the Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association and the Policy Research Institute.
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Farida Akhtar said she has been in discussions with the Energy and Mineral Resources Division and the finance ministry for the past year.
"We have finally received assurance from the finance ministry that a 20% rebate will be approved. The announcement will come very soon," she said.
She also cautioned that unethical practices – such as the misuse of antibiotics, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and jelly pushing – pose serious risks for Bangladesh's shrimp exports in the global market.
Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur, attending as special guest, issued a strong warning regarding underutilised government-leased land allotted for shrimp cultivation.
"If large industrial groups fail to invest in the land they have taken, they should be kicked out. This land must go to genuine entrepreneurs," he said.
Presenting the keynote paper, Dr Bazlul Haque Khondaker, research director at PRI, identified input shortages, low productivity and inadequate policy support as the main barriers to the sector's growth.
Shrimp exporters, researchers, industry experts and government officials attended the event.
