Blow for Bangladesh’s female crab farmers as Covid stops exports

Female crab farmers in Bangladesh are struggling to feed their families after exports to China collapsed due to Covid-19, a charity has warned.

Despite the crab harvesting season being in full swing in Mongla, southern Bangladesh, continued lockdown across the nation and the closure of lucrative external markets have impacted not only farmers’ livelihoods but also the country’s GDP, which relies heavily on the $43m (£33m) crab export industry, according to the charity Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO).

“With exporters in Dhaka seeing reduced demand from profitable markets in China, it’s likely that when schools reopen in Bangladesh children will be unable to go to school and households will continue to suffer,” said VSO’s project lead, Shafiqur Rahman, who has been helping a cooperative of 358 female farmers export crabs to live markets in China and south-east Asia, and to frozen crab markets in Europe.

The VSO cooperative project saw the women receive an average yearly income of around £580, 18% higher than the average for low-skilled workers in the country, says the charity. “It has proved that women can contribute equally to society by giving them access to finance, export markets and technology,” said Rahman.

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Sathi Das, who started crab farming in 2014 and now leads the women’s crab farming cooperative, said the closure in February of the Dhaka crab market – where Chinese buyers usually buy crab in bulk – has made her fearful for her family’s future.

“I have no savings. I sold all my assets to keep the family going, but it still wasn’t enough,” she said.

“My husband’s business is also struggling and we’re now both unable to put food on the table. We borrow money from our neighbours. I’m not sure when and how we’re going to be able to pay off our debts. It’s a very uncertain and challenging time for us.”

Although Das and others are able to sell crab to local markets, lack of demand has seen the price drop by 80%, from 1,000 taka (£9) a kilo to 200, she said. Despite the upcoming mid-autumn festival in China – when crab is usually consumed as part of the festivities – there are still no signs from exporters in Dhaka that the market will reopen anytime soon, said Rahman.

As a result, female farmers have returned to breeding white fish and shrimp in the same pond as they were breeding crab, a far more laborious process with lower market prices, says VSO. The farmers have also been affected by high tides caused by Cyclone Amphan, which flooded the fish farms and ruined the crops.

Das said she missed being financially independent and able to support her family.

“Mongla is quite a conservative society, which prevents women from working and earning an income on their own. Life was often a struggle for me. I hope that we can start our crab business again soon and be able to return to how things were before the pandemic.”