December marks the end of the main cultivation season for black tiger shrimp (P. monodon) in Bangladesh, a season that began in April/May and experienced a difficult start both in terms of production and exports.
Production was mediocre due to the high temperatures during June and July. Post-larvae quality was also very poor at the beginning of the season. Consequently, production was expected to be significantly reduced (by 15 to 20 percent), but the harvest period between September and November showed some recovery.
The total export volume was around 35,000 metric tons over the first 10 months of 2019.
While black tiger season has now come to an end for most farmers, the freshwater prawn (M. rosenbergii) cultivation season started in September and is also facing some difficulties.
