Fish exports to India through the Akhaura land port in Brahmanbaria have come to a halt due to complications over certification from the Fisheries Department, raising concerns of daily losses amounting to at least Tk1.5 crore, traders said.
Officials and exporters reported that 50–70 tonnes of frozen fish—mainly rui, catla, pangas, tilapia and pabda—are shipped to India daily from the port at a rate of $2.5 per kilogram.
The Fisheries Department issues mandatory certificates for each consignment. Until now, the certificates were processed manually, but the National Board of Revenue (NBR) instructed that the system be moved online starting 13 November.
As the Fisheries Department has not yet completed the transition, exporters have been unable to submit their bills of entry since Thursday, leading to a complete suspension of fish shipments.
Faruk Ahmed, general secretary of the Akhaura Land Port Fish Exporters’ Association, said traders were now facing financial losses due to the authority’s failure to digitalise the process.
“As the Fisheries Department did not act on the NBR directive, traders are paying the price. Until the issue is fixed, exports worth at least Tk1.5 crore will be disrupted every day, and the government will also lose revenue,” he said.
Akhaura Upazila Fisheries Extension Officer Rezaul Karim said they had not been aware of the NBR directive.
“We came to know about it on Wednesday and have already applied for online access. We have now received the user ID and password. Once traders complete their online registration, exports will resume if the issue is resolved,” he said.
