ABSTRACT
As a result of COVID-19 spread, Bangladesh implemented a range of measures including general holidays, lockdown, no lockdown, and strict lockdown which resulted in the dramatic ups and downs of the price level of the products. This study aimed to examine the influence of COVID-19 on poultry products (meat and eggs) in Bangladesh using Gazipur-an intensive poultry growing area - as a case study. Monthly market price data of poultry meat and eggs, and primary panel data from the same respondents using a random sampling technique through a structured questionnaire-based interview, Focus Group Discussion (FGD), and Key Informant Interview (KII) were collected. The results reveal that after the incidence of COVID-19, the price of poultry products at farmgate, wholesale and retail levels dropped drastically for the first three months (February to April 2020). Following that, the market price of farm (broiler) chicken and eggs increased by 40% and more than 30%, respectively. On the other hand, the price of local (deshi) chicken increased by 15%, which was already high on the market. However, in the early phase of COVID-19, many smallholder poultry farmers and hatchery owners were forced to shut down due to less demand/no demand of the product along with high feed cost and inadequate support from external sources. The government should provide financial support with low or no-interest rate to the smallholder growers in order to enhance their resilience against shocks like COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters, etc.
ABSTRACT
This study investigated the effects of COVID-19 on the market prices, spending on fish purchases, and consumer satisfaction level based on a random survey of 247 fish consumers in Bangladesh. The Propensity Score Matching (PSM) was employed to make comparisons between two consumer groups (who consumed Pre-COVID-19 and during COVID-19). Besides, consumer satisfaction with income, purchase frequency, quantity consumed, market price, fish quality, and availability during the pandemic was analyzed using the relative index, while the Tobit regression model was used to estimate the determinants of satisfaction level. Prices of cultured and captured fish species such as pangas, catla, mrigel, common carp, mola, tengra, bayeem, boal, shoil, have experienced sharp price fluctuation during COVID-19 due to supply chain disruptions and changing fish supplies in the market. The reduction in expenses on culture fish species varied from $4.190 to $4.212 while the reduction in expenses on capture fish species ranged from $7.985 to $8.178. In addition, low-income individuals are relatively less satisfied with their income, amount, frequency, and price of fish purchases than the lower middle, upper middle- and high-income groups. Consumer satisfaction declined during COVID-19 while income, frequency, and quantity of purchases plummeted and fish market prices increased. Therefore, the government might place a greater emphasis on eradicating supply chain disruption during pandemic like COVID-19 by avoiding nationwide lockdown to maintain stability in the market prices of fish, spending on fish purchases, consumer income, and make all income groups satisfied.
ABSTRACT
The aquaculture and fisheries sectors are critical sources of nutrition and employment generation in many developed and developing countries. Hence, any disruptions to these sectors due to the COVID-19 pandemic have a far-reaching impact, leading to a cascading chain of disorder affecting people's food security and livelihoods. Relating to these fish sectors, we reviewed COVID-19's implications for the food security of these vulnerable countries. The current study indicated that COVID-19 and its related preventive measures have severely disrupted the fish demand and supply chain by creating considerable fish price volatility. As a result, the vulnerable aquatic communities have adopted several short-term coping strategies, including fish overwintering, delayed fish stocking time, and feeding the overcrowded fish with low-priced food. Since the long-term coping strategies are still unclear, we recommended certain longstanding methods that are likely to safeguard food security and livelihoods if adopted.