Production process and profitability of dried fish in chalan beel areas of Bangladesh

Abstract

Bangladesh possesses immense potential to earn substantial foreign exchange by exporting dry fish. As the country's largest beel, Chalan Beel produces a vast quantity of fish annually, a large portion of which is processed through sun drying. This study was conducted in January and October 2017 to analyze the production process and estimate the profitability of dried fish production in the Chalan Beel region. Data were collected from 32 dried fish producers in Tarash and Singra upazilas through a simple random sampling technique. Observations revealed that the processing systems were largely traditional, relying on beel water for washing raw fish, low-quality salt, and open bamboo racks without protective measures against insects or dust. On average, a processor dried 38.8 tonnes of raw fish annually, yielding an average net return of Tk. 131,911.77 per year with an undiscounted benefit-cost ratio (BCR) of 1.08. Factors such as age, experience, labor cost, and rack construction cost significantly influenced gross returns. The findings indicate a critical need for substantial improvements across handling, processing, and transportation stages, emphasizing that targeted training on hygiene, sanitation, water quality, and raw material selection is essential to supply high-quality dried fish products to consumers.