Kapotakkho's crabs now exported to China, Korea, Australia, Malaysia

Crabs farmed on the banks of the Kapotakkho River in Sagardari are now being exported to China, Korea, Australia, and Malaysia. On nine bighas of land near the birthplace of the great poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt, 73,000 boxes are used to cultivate crabs in enclosures along the river. Thousands of small plastic boxes float in the pond water, where the species Scylla serrata is raised. In the middle of the enclosure stands a tin-roofed hut built with bamboo and wood, overseeing the crab farming operations. Crabs are exported from this farm every month, and now, young entrepreneur Abdullah Al Mamun Sajib is preparing to expand exports to Japan as well.

Sajib, son of Abu Taleb from Byasdanga village in Keshabpur Upazila, was once employed as a corporate executive at Jamuna Group. Educated and determined to contribute to the development of rural communities, he left his job at the end of 2019 and returned home to start a poultry farm and a fruit orchard. Although those ventures were not successful, he did not give up. He eventually turned to fish farming and then crab farming—where he found his success. His farm is located right beside the Kapotakkho River in Sagardari, near the ancestral home of Madhusudan Dutt.

For the past three years, Sajib has been farming crabs at this location. He cultivates only two of the seventeen commercial crab grades available in the country. Crabs are collected from rivers near the Sundarbans and placed into boxes at the farm for grading. Within three hours, the crabs begin molting, and after 25 days of care, they reach full grade. Sajib now raises crabs in about 73,000 boxes. His soft-shell crabs are sold to five-star hotels and exported to countries like Korea, Australia, China, and Malaysia—making him both successful and self-reliant.

Sajib’s farm has created employment for 24 people. Of his nine bighas, five are dedicated to soft-shell crab farming in boxes, while the remaining four follow traditional methods to raise hard-shell crabs. About 2 maunds (approximately 80 kg) of tilapia are chopped and fed to the crabs daily. He explains that refrigerated vehicles come directly to the farm to transport the crabs. Buyers select and load the graded crabs into these vehicles. Prices range from Tk 1,500 to Tk 2,000 per kilogram.

These crabs are sold only to high-end hotels and for export—they are not available in the local open market. Besides farming, Sajib also sources wild crabs of various grades from the Sundarbans and brings them to his farm for grading. His farm employs one manager, one supervisor, and 22 part-time student workers who are also becoming economically self-sufficient through their work.

Sajib’s crabs are in high demand internationally, and he has finalized discussions with Japanese exporters to begin shipping crabs to Japan. If all goes well, he expects to start exports to Japan right after the upcoming Eid-ul-Adha.

Inspired by Sajib’s success, others have started exploring crab farming as well. He emphasizes that his initiative was driven by a desire to make rural people self-reliant. With government support, he believes crab farming can be expanded significantly, creating employment for hundreds of jobless individuals. He has already created part-time job opportunities for 22 students and hopes to increase that number to 50 soon.

Keshabpur Upazila Senior Fisheries Officer Sudip Biswas confirms that the farm is located on land belonging to both Keshabpur and Tala upazilas, along the Kapotakkho River. Though relatively small, the farm contains between 70,000 and 80,000 crabs. The 22 student workers are striving for self-reliance while continuing their education. The crabs farmed here are being exported abroad, and with government support, many unemployed youths could generate substantial foreign currency through crab farming along the Kapotakkho River.