A 2020 survey presented at BIDS seminar shows 89% of farmers now use auction markets
Workers unloading fish from a boat at the port city’s Karnaphuli Ghat, where trawlers carrying deep-sea catch lined the shore. Once the trawlers are full, the fish are brought by boat to the cold storage, from where they are sent to different parts of the country. FILE PHOTO: RAJIB RAIHAN/STAR
Large quantities of fish are now moving from southern Bangladesh to other parts of the country with fewer intermediaries, as farmers increasingly sell directly at markets instead of relying on middlemen, according to a study.
Farmers prefer auction-based markets because they offer transparent pricing, allowing them to feel confident they are getting the best available rate. The growing number of traders in these markets has encouraged this shift, the 2020 study found.
The findings were presented in a paper titled "Wholesalers and the Transformation of the 'Hidden Middle' of the Aquaculture Value Chain in Bangladesh" by Ben Belton, research fellow at IFPRI, on the second day of the BIDS Annual Conference on Development 2025 at Parjatan Bhaban in Agargaon.
Belton said the survey revisited fish wholesalers, retailers and farms in seven districts of southern Bangladesh in 2020, using the same locations covered in a 2013 survey to observe changes over time.
He said he conducted the research with colleagues from WorldFish, Bangladesh Agricultural University and Michigan State University.
He said the use of dadon has declined and is now mainly used to secure access to shrimp rather than extract additional surplus from farmers.
The study also recorded very low levels of loss and waste, which Belton attributed to improvements in transport, mobility, communications, access to ice and packaging, and the growing practice of selling fish alive.
The aquaculture sector continues to generate significant employment, particularly for men and some youth, though women's participation remains limited.
According to the study, 89 percent of farmers now sell directly through auction-based markets, while only 7 percent sell to village assemblers (faria). Wholesalers have also modernised rapidly: mobile phone ownership rose from 74 percent in 2013 to 97 percent in 2020; use of plastic crates and barrels increased from 65 percent to nearly 100 percent; and the share storing fish on ice rose from 28 percent to 63 percent. Across all types of wholesalers, 74–100 percent now use loose ice.
Belton noted that icing and packaging account for 22–28 percent of operating costs.
The sale of live fish has grown sharply, now accounting for 25 percent of total sales, up from 5–10 percent a decade ago. Procurement of live fish and shrimp rose to 40 percent in 2020.
Belton added that aquaculture has expanded rapidly in Bangladesh over the past 30 years, with farmed aquatic food supply increasing fourfold since 2000.
The session, chaired by Geoff Wood, Professor Emeritus at the University of Bath, also featured two other papers. IFPRI Research Fellow Moogdho Mahzab presented work on mechanised harvesting, while IFPRI Research Fellow Mehrab Bakhtiar discussed the long-term impacts of social assistance on consumption and poverty.
