Bangladesh crab farmers feel pinch as coronavirus halts exports

Workers removing crabs from a pond at a crab farm in Khulna. Thousands of tons of Bangladesh crabs earmarked for Chinese dining tables are being left to rot because the Covid-19 (coronavirus) outbreak has halted exports. - AFP

DHAKA: Thousands of tons of Bangladesh crabs earmarked for Chinese dining tables are being left to rot because the coronavirus has halted exports.

The Bangladesh crab industry -- which involves some 500,000 mostly poor farmers -- is facing its worst-ever crisis as some 90% of all crabs from the US$30mil market are exported to China.