Cold Chain Business in Bangladesh to Enhance the Economic Growth of the Country

This descriptive study tries to find the economic and environmental impact on Bangladesh if cold chain technology of freezing shrimp is changed from conventional mechanical block process to liquid nitrogen individual quick frozen (LN IQF) process. The study also incorporates new business opportunity of cold chain and an effective supply chain of the frozen shrimp that would enhance the export of the country. The study was conducted based on the secondary data, i.e. analysis of the literature, journals, books and different publications of the stakeholders. It is found if the conventional mechanical process is changed to Liquid Nitrogen Individual Quick Frozen (LN IQF) process then, the country could earn extra $537 million per year and that could add to the GDP of the country. This LN IQF process could produce high quality frozen shrimp and would not create any harmful gases to the environment. Also there would be a new business opportunity of cold chain with a turnover of around$1004 million per year. Although the investment for the new business would be around $68 million, this investment cost of the LN IQF process could be recovered within two months from the extra earning of the frozen shrimps. The LN IQF would also allow the Bangladesh shrimp producers to access directly into the international shrimp market, since in the current process they have to go through the intermediate buyers to sell the frozen shrimps. This LN IQF would increase the effectiveness of the supply chain of the frozen shrimps from Bangladesh to the final consumers in the international market. KeywordsCold Chain, supply chain, Liquid Nitrogen (LN), Individual Quick Frozen (IQF), new business opportunity, economic and environmental impact

Influence of Dynamics of Actors and Information on the Organic Supply Chain

The agricultural sector throughout the world has seen shifting significantly by suitably using e-technology. A good number of studies have been conducted on agriculture and food security. The growth rate of world organic farming or business increases to more than the growth rate of traditional agriculture. In Bangladesh the pace of growth of organic agriculture is insignificant. The organic agriculture or organic supply chain in Bangladesh was scarcely studied. Hence, an intensive study is needed for the organic agriculture industry to pursue the organic supply chain that leads to a promising growth of organic business.  A great deal of research has been conducted to explore the factors that may influence the organic supply chain and growth of the organic business. Several theories such as the diffusion of innovation theory, theory of planned behavior, marketing system and price of organic products, and quality function deployment have been studied and proposed to enhance the understanding of the issue. The integration of all these literature and theories has attracted the researcher’s attention. Thus, this study aims to explore the influence of information systems, e-technology, and the dynamics of the actors (consumer, retailer, intermediaries, transporter, farmer, and basic suppliers) on the organic supply chain enhancing the growth of the organic business. By adopting secondary data with collected data (primary data) using self-administrated questionnaires the research work was evaluated. A total of 389 responses from the organic agriculture industrial actors, consumers, and transporters were collected using stratified random sampling methods. To inspect and analyze data, Path Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) techniques were used with AMOS. The results of the study indicated that the proposed model provided a good understanding of the factors influencing the organic supply chain.  From the result, it was also revealed that the organic supply chain has a significant impact on the growth of organic farming and organic consumers and the performance of organic businesses. The research objectives of this study were accomplished and all research hypotheses were supported. This study theoretically offers useful information and collected data might help to further research relevant to the organic supply chain. In addition, the study finds a way to foster a better understanding and knowledge of the organic supply chain. It is encouraged to do future research to study the factors and information and impact of the organic supply chain from various aspects.Keywords: organic supply chain, e-technology, organic agriculture, growth of organic business, SEM, AMO