Blazing a trail in farming soft-shell crab
Delicious soft-shell crabs produced in the farm “Irawan Trading” owned by a Rakhine man, Aung Chin, are exported to six countries.
Aung Chin set up his farm on three acres of land in 2011 and has been producing soft-shell crabs on a commercial basis. Since the beginning his business has been a great success.
The crabs produced in the farm are exported to Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand where these crabs have a huge demand.
The farm exported about 30 tonnes of crabs last year and earned around Tk 2.4 crore.
Aung Chin, whose hard work made it possible, has gained state recognition. His farm has won the National Fisheries Award 2016 for his success in fisheries development and management.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina handed him a gold medal and a cheque of Tk 50,000 at a function at Bangladesh Krishibid Institution auditorium at Farm Gate in the capital on July 20.
Aung Chin's success has inspired many others to produce crabs on a commercial basis.
Cox's Bazar sadar upazila fisheries officer Moinuddin Ahmed said more than 100 people inspired by Aung Chin started crab farming.
Farm owners of Cox's Bazar have been exporting crabs to some 20 countries, he added.
Aung Chin completed his master's at the Institute of Marine Sciences and Fisheries of Chittagong University in 1998. His late father was a well-to-do cloth trader. With a middle class background and a university degree, he went for his own business instead of looking for a job.
The second among five sisters and a brother, he now lives at Anderson Road in the town.
He set about farming crabs at coastal Monupara village under Khuruskul union in 2011 with his own savings and loans from friends, which amounted to Tk 40 lakh.
Aung Chin began exporting crabs the same year with the help of the Department of Fisheries under the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock.
With his produce having good quality, he started receiving more orders from several countries. So, he increased production to meet the increasing demand.
As the government acquired land for its Ashrayan Project, the crab farm was later shifted to Chowfaldandi in sadar upazila.
Aung Chin said there were 50,000 boxes in his project and each box was used to rear a maximum of three crabs.
He wants to expand his export to Europe, Australia and the USA. He has already started farming crabs on another three-acre land in Nhila union under Teknaf upazila.
Aung Chin said he had employed 30 to 40 people in his farm to work on a regular basis, while another 80 to 100 others' livelihood was dependent on his business.
Cox's Bazar district fisheries officer Amitosh Sen said Aung Chin, who had established a flourishing industry, was now a role model for many in the country.
Bangladesh earned Tk 199.38 crore in foreign exchange in 2015 by exporting crabs and kuchia, Amitosh said, adding that Aung Chin was the pioneer of commercial crab production in Bangladesh.
Success in crab production is more as the business involves fewer risk factors, Amitosh said.
Earlier, plastic baskets were imported at Tk 130 per piece for farming crabs. Now similar baskets are manufactured in the country and are available at only Tk 30 per piece, he added.
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