Moheshkhali-Matarbari seaport to boost Bangladesh's fish export growth

Bangladesh's fish and seafood export sector is expected to witness significant growth for improved infrastructure and logistics support from the under-construction Moheshkhali-Matarbari deep seaport, industry insiders said.

The deep seaport, part of the Moheshkhali-Matarbari Integrated Infrastructure Development Initiative, is being developed with Japanese assistance, which will play a key role in easing congestion at Chattogram Port while enabling direct handling of larger vessels. 

This has direct implications for the fisheries sector, where maintaining cold chain integrity and minimising transport times are critical.

"The new port will drastically reduce shipment time for perishable goods like frozen fish and seafood. That will give us better access to international markets with stricter freshness standards," said Nurul Islam, a local fish trader at Moheshkhali.

Mohabbat Ali, a fisherman of Matarbari said, once the Matarbari deep seaport gets operational, the fish they catch from the sea could be exported within a shorter period of time.

"If the fish we catch are exported, we will get fair prices of our catches, which help improve our living standards," he added. 

Being part of a multi-billion-dollar market, deep sea fishing and fish processing are evidently obvious choices for Bangladesh. Yet, it has been largely unexplored. 

The advent of Moheshkhali-Matarbari Development Authority (MIDA) makes the choice to tap this potential now more than ever. 

About seven percent of the global fisheries come from the Bay of Bengal while more than 450 million people rely on its blue economy.

Bangladesh is a member of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), which allows Bangladesh to fish in certain territories of the Indian Ocean, fish up to a quota for 2 species of tuna, and fish an unlimited amount of 2 other species of tuna. Yet, year after year, the quota remains unfulfilled. 

To address this issue, and to encourage deep sea fishing as a whole, the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock has permitted the manufacturing or import of 28 longliner fishing vessels. 

The Matarbari port will help existing and new ventures like the Chakaria shrimp industry by faster shipments to the EU, USA, Japan etc. 

It will reduce processing time and cost on exporting and potentially make way for value-added product exports like fillet, smoked fish, ready-to-eat seafood, etc. 

The potential, for instance, of scallop processing and exporting worth US$ 500 million, coupled with the robust logistics of MIDA is expected to bring a new wave of FDI into the country.