Bangladesh may be first S Asian country to export croc skin, meat

Archive news of Saturday October 11 2008

Financial Express

A man who had been in quest of a profession with a difference finally had his passion landed in a commercial crocodile farm at Bhaluka in Mymensingh, the first in the South Asian region, reports BSS.

Mushtaq Ahmed, a university graduate, had browsed different professions, including one in UNHCR, but could not settle down anywhere.

He along with Mesbahul Huq, a pharmacist, then set up the crocodile farm, the Reptiles Farm Limited (RFL), at Hatiber village under Bhaluka upazila in Mymensingh district on a land of 15 acres.

While the project is Mushtaq's brainchild, it was Huq's investment that helped turn the dream into a reality.

The two entrepreneurs were aided in their maiden venture with technical assistance from SouthAsian Enterprise Development Facility (SEDF) and with financial support from the equity and entrepreneur fund (EEF) unit of Bangladesh Bank.

The RFL also got assistance from Southeast Bank Limited.

The duo brought 75 reptiles ranging from seven to 12 feet from Malaysia for commercial breeding of crocodiles for Tk 12.5 million (1.25 crore). Of them, eight died on way to the farm established in October 2004.

Talking to the news agency at their Lalmatia head office in the city Friday, RFL Managing Director and CEO Mushtaq said, "We have set up the farm with an aim to export over 5,000 pieces of crocodile skin annually and create a base for earning up to US$ 5.0 million by 2015."

Different countries, including France, Germany, Italy and Spain, have shown keen interest in importing crocodiles from their farm, he said, adding the farm is likely to export skins, meat and bones of 140 saltwater crocodiles next year.

"We are very much hopeful of exporting skins, meat and bones of at least 140 crocodiles from Bangladesh by December, 2009", Mushtaq said and expressed the hope that the number would go up to 500 within the next two to three years.

He said there is a huge demand for crocodile skins, meat and bones in Europe, America and other developed countries like Australia, Japan, Singapore and China, and charcoal made from crocodile bones is indispensable for the global perfume industry.

To meet this demand, more crocodile farms could be set up in the country, Mushtaq said.

But, he said, there should be a policy on launching this unconventional business, otherwise its future could be disastrous like our shrimp industry.

"We hope the government will formulate an exotic wildlife farming policy to facilitate exploration of this field, as the sector can make valuable contribution to our export basket", he added.

Mushtaq said the international price of a kilogramme of crocodile meat is about US$ 200, while a baby crocodile is expected to fetch $700 to $1,200.

He said the number of crocodiles at their farm now stood at 447 from 68 through rearing in the last four years.

There are now 32 ponds at the farm with 447 saltwater crocodiles. Of them, 380 are small and 67 big in size and the length of the biggest crocodile is 14 feet and the smallest is eight feet, he added.

"In the last four years, we have built special incubation facilities and other infrastructure for hatching eggs and raising baby crocodiles", Mushtaq said.

Currently, he said, the farm employs 10 full-time staff, who have been trained locally and internationally. As part of its human resources development programme, the RFL encourages all its employees to pursue higher studies at local universities, he said.