Some 6,000 shrimp farms and hatcheries in the four southern districts of Satkhira, Khulna, Bagerhat and Patuakhali were washed away. Bangladesh's shrimp exports are the country's second largest foreign exchange earner (after ready-made garments), earning US$515 million from exports during the last fiscal year (July 2006-June 2007).
The Bangladeshi government was hoping to earn over $1.5 billion from shrimp exports annually by 2010. In Morrelganj, Sharankhola and Mongla sub-districts of Bagerhat District, over 90 per cent of some 5,000 shrimp enclosures were destroyed by the cyclone.
Bleak outlook for Bangladesh Shrimp Farmers
BANGLADESH - Nearly 400,000 shrimp farmers face an uncertain future two months after Cyclone Sidr struck Bangladesh's southwestern coastal belt.