Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Barriers to Trade and its Impact on the Environment

This executive summary examines the shrimp farming industry in Bangladesh, focusing on the challenges of implementing Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SPS) standards and the resulting social and environmental risks.

• Shrimp is the second largest export from Bangladesh, with the industry employing 600,000 people and generating US$301 million annually from bagda (tiger shrimp) and golda (sweet water shrimp) farms, of which US$243 million comes from bagda alone.
• The industry is characterized by two types of production: bagda (tiger shrimp), with approximately 37,397 farms averaging 4.5 hectares and producing 25,000 tonnes in 2001; and golda (sweet water shrimp), with 105,000 farms over 30,000 hectares producing 11,942 tonnes in 2001. Golda cultivation supports more poor and marginal farmers due to smaller average farm sizes of 0.28 hectares.
• While processing plants have adopted HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) methods to meet sanitary and phyto-sanitary agreements, it has been difficult to impose these standards on small shrimp farms. Farmers often lack the capital, education, and motivation to adopt these standards, and many require training on how chemicals used in production affect shrimp quality.
• A simulation based on field data indicates a trend toward intensive shrimp farming, which threatens to increase conflicts and damage the social fabric of rural Bangladesh by removing smallholder income and concentrating ownership of the export sector among a few operators.
• The industry is hindered by mutual mistrust between farmers and processors and high commissions taken by middlemen. Proposed solutions include providing farmer training, creating better liaison with processing plants, and initiating a multi-stakeholder dialogue led by a neutral organization to build trust and develop a common policy for environmental sustainability.

APA

Haque, A. E. (2003). Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Barriers to Trade and its Impact on the Environment. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/tkn_shrimp_bangladesh_sum.pdf

Chicago

Haque, A.K. Enamul. Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Barriers to Trade and its Impact on the Environment. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2003. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/tkn_shrimp_bangladesh_sum.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Haque |first1=A.K. Enamul |title=Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Barriers to Trade and its Impact on the Environment |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=June 2003 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/tkn_shrimp_bangladesh_sum.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{haque2003sanitary, author = {Haque, A.K. Enamul}, title = {{Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary Barriers to Trade and its Impact on the Environment}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2003}, month = jun, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/tkn_shrimp_bangladesh_sum.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }