Photo : Collected

Mahamudur Rahman Nazid

SATKHIRA, July 16, 2025 (BSS) – With a steady rise in the export of soft-shell crabs, fish farmers in the south-western district of Satkhira are now opting for large-scale soft-shell crab farming that has been creating fresh employment for the coastal communities.    

Due to huge demand of the soft-shell crabs in the international market, new farms are being set up in the Shyamnagar upazila under the district, which is also playing a positive role for the economy.

Around 644.77 metric tons soft-shell crabs with a total market value of US$8.02 million were exported from Bangladesh during the fiscal year 2023-24, According to the data of Fisheries Inspection and Directorate of Quality Control of Khulna, according to the data of Fisheries Inspection and Directorate of Quality Control of Khulna.

In the fiscal year 2024-25 (FY25), the export volume was increased to 1166.89 metric tons with a market value of $14.20 million. 

Talking to BSS, Satkhira District Fisheries Officer GM Selim said the government has taken various initiatives to increase the production of soft-shell crabs in the region. 

“Farmers are being given regular training so that they can cultivate crabs in a modern and sustainable way. However, due to the current ban on entry into the Sundarbans, farmers are facing some problems in collecting crab fry. The government is providing them with necessary support and cooperation to deal with this crisis,” he added.

About the soft-shell crabs, a senior official of the Fisheries Department said soft-shell crab is regular form of crab, which needs different farming method. 

Farmers collect crabs from natural sources to take to farms, and monitor those in every three hours, he added.

Then, he said, farmers shift the collected crabs from saline water to boxes containing pure drinking water immediately after the creatures replace their old hard exoskeleton (shell).

The certain type of crab is being cultured mainly for export, he added.

A crab farmer of the Dugabanti area under Shyamnagar upazila said they suffer a lot of damage from storms and floods here, so they always have an economic risk. 

“Earlier, I involved with shrimp farming. Shrimp fry have low tolerance to salinity and they die when the fry are attacked by viruses. So this time I have started crab farming. It is relatively profitable and I am farming white fish in the pond along with crabs, so that I can also get some financial benefits from it," he added.

Another farmer Sourav Sarkar said that everyone in this region is cultivating soft-shell crabs for huge demands in the international market. 

“I have spent Taka 3 lakh on building 700 cages this season. If the market remains good, I can sell it at around Taka 5 to Taka 6 lakh. Currently, 'A' grade soft-shell crabs are being sold at Taka 750 per kg, 'B' grade at Taka 650, and 'C' grade at Taka 500," he added.

Meanwhile, the exports of Bangladeshi crab showed a healthy growth of 48.70 percent in the last fiscal year (FY25) fetching $13.74 million.

Crab exports were $9.24 million in the fiscal year of 2023-24, according to the data of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).

The single-month crab exports in June 2025, however, were $1.57 million.