Hilsha Fish Marketing Strategies in Dhaka City of Bangladesh

The study was conducted to find out hilsha fish marketing system in Dhaka city of Bangladesh. Hilsha fish (Tenualosa ilisha) is the national fish our country and all people like this fish on their meal but due to lack of proper marketing system maximum people remain out of touch of this fish. We found that Hilsha fish comes to Dhaka city maintaining a strong marketing channel member such fishermen, faria, bapari, aratder and finally goes to consumer plate through retailer. For identifying   marketing  pattern and pricing strategies of the Hilsha   I have chosen  sample size containing 60 respondents(10 fishermen, 10 aratders,10 beparies, 10faria  and 20 retailers) and collected data   from  Jatrabari, Showarighat, Kawranbazar, Savar Kachabazar, Banani Kachabazar, Mirpur, Uttara , Krishi market,Baipal bazaar and Lunchghat of Chandpur  through questionnaire. I found that net marketing margin for per mound (40kg) varies according to channel member such as Retailer(Tk2750.5), aratder(Tk417.5), faria (Tk1791.5),  Bepari (Tk1580.5) and retailers  get maximum share of profit  margin. The marketing cost per mound (40kg) for retailer (449.5), aratder(702.5), faria(908.5), Bepari (1210.5). Price determined   at retail market based on market condition, bargaining of retailers and consumers. Fishermen  and  aratder  arrange   an auction  method for  selling their fish  as well as  faria follows open bargaining, auction and  market going price. I have also  found that Hilsh fish is so much  demanding to people  all over the world and still sold at high priced but  fishermen can not  receive  reasonable price due to  involvement of mahajons (money lenders) who  enforced fishermen  to sell  at prefixed rate as a result economic conditions of the fishermen  are not changing

Consumer Perception of Online Marketplace in Bangladesh: An Empirical Study on Dhaka City

Bangladesh is one of the growing economically developing countries, where the online marketplace is becoming popular in recent days. Besides the traditional market or super shops, online marketplaces grab the eyeballs of the consumers, because of avoiding a heavy traffic jam, huge time consuming, public gathering, and recent Covid-19 lockdown. This paper conducted an empirical study to measure the consumer perception of the online marketplace. The relationship between consumer preference and demographic data is also analyzed. It has been found that major responders are young in age, male in gender, and student and jobholders in occupation. Whereas, books and foods are the main preferred product to purchase online because those twos are reliable and easy to ensure quality rather than clothing, cosmetics, and other products. A suggestion would be concluded by this paper is that products in the online marketplace must increase the quality and reliability to ensure the purchasing preference by the consumers. &nbsp

Extraction of organic pigments from tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) and red amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor L.) for safe use in agro-products

The utilization of synthetic dyes in food industries is a great concern for food safety and health issues. So, natural pigments can be an excellent substitute for synthetic dyes and also health-friendly for consumers. In the experiment, natural pigments were extracted from tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) and red amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor L.). Then the stability and consumer acceptance of the extracted pigments were examined. The highest amount of pigment was extracted from turmeric (2.14 ± 0.30 %) with ethanol solvent, followed by tomato (0.67 ± 0.06 %) with hexane: acetone (1:1) solvent, and red amaranth (0.78 ± 0.05 %) with acetone solvent. Turmeric pigment showed the highest stability in high temperatures and light exposure. All of the pigments were highly stable in a neutral environment; however, tomato pigment showed the highest stability index (84.33 ± 2.52) at pH 3.0, but turmeric pigment showed the highest stability (91.67 ± 1.53) at pH 5.0. The simple preference test revealed that the use of turmeric pigment in boiled rice had the highest acceptance rate, and in terms of taste and flavor, red amaranth pigments in ice cream. So turmeric pigment can be utilized in high-temperature processing and/or acidic foods, but tomato and red amaranth pigments might be in low-temperature processing foods such as the ice-cream and soft drinks processing industry

Analysis of the Problems and Minimization Initiatives Addressed by Bangladeshi Farmers During the Covid-19 Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic is heavily impacting not only the health sector but also every economical sector all over the world. Bangladesh is among the major agriculture production-based economies and is suffering greatly during this pandemic. This paper presents the current agricultural situation in Bangladesh based on a survey involving various pools of experts. It also visualizes the strategies used to assess the competency of initiatives aimed at minimizing the problems faced by farmers in Bangladesh arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected from 117 expert agricultural personnel in Bangladesh (75.27% male and 24.73% female). Twenty-eight problems were identified that are faced by the farmers of Bangladesh arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Among these, twenty two were severe while six were less so. It was found that problems relating to product wastage, low product-level pricing, the absence of traders, and transportation issues were identified as top ranking. Twenty-six initiatives were introduced and adopted by different organizations in Bangladesh to minimize agricultural problems arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Among these, five were highly effective and the remainder moderately so. It was found that initiatives related to government directives and financial support were identified as the top ranked. Based on analysis of data, this paper concludes with several suggestions aimed at minimizing the problems faced by farmers in Bangladesh arising from the COVID-19 pandemic

Analysis of the Problems and Minimization Initiatives Addressed by Bangladeshi Farmers During the Covid-19 Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic is heavily impacting not only the health sector but also every economical sector all over the world. Bangladesh is among the major agriculture production-based economies and is suffering greatly during this pandemic. This paper presents the current agricultural situation in Bangladesh based on a survey involving various pools of experts. It also visualizes the strategies used to assess the competency of initiatives aimed at minimizing the problems faced by farmers in Bangladesh arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected from 117 expert agricultural personnel in Bangladesh (75.27% male and 24.73% female). Twenty-eight problems were identified that are faced by the farmers of Bangladesh arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Among these, twenty two were severe while six were less so. It was found that problems relating to product wastage, low product-level pricing, the absence of traders, and transportation issues were identified as top ranking. Twenty-six initiatives were introduced and adopted by different organizations in Bangladesh to minimize agricultural problems arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Among these, five were highly effective and the remainder moderately so. It was found that initiatives related to government directives and financial support were identified as the top ranked. Based on analysis of data, this paper concludes with several suggestions aimed at minimizing the problems faced by farmers in Bangladesh arising from the COVID-19 pandemic

Fenugreek seed powder protects mice against arsenic-induced neurobehavioral changes

The current study was designed to evaluate the protective effect of fenugreek seed powder against As-induced neurobehavioral and biochemical perturbations using a mouse model. Mice exposed to arsenic at 10 mg/kg body weight showed development of anxiety-like behavior and memory impairment compared to control mice in elevated plus maze and Morris water maze tests, respectively. A significantly decreased acetyl and butyrylcholinesterase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione reductase activities and brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels were found in the brain of arsenic-exposed mice compared to control mice. Interestingly, supplementation of fenugreek seed powder to arsenic-treated mice significantly restored the activity of cholinesterase and antioxidant enzymes (e.g. superoxide dismutase, glutathione reductase) as well as brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels in the brain tissue of arsenic-exposed mice. Consequently, reduced anxiety-like behavior, improved learning and memory were observed in fenugreek supplemented arsenic treated mice compared to only arsenic-exposed mice group. Thus, this study suggests that fenugreek seed powder reduces arsenic-induced neurotoxicity in mice

Association between serum periostin levels and the severity of arsenic-induced skin lesions.

Arsenic is a potent environmental toxicant and human carcinogen. Skin lesions are the most common manifestations of chronic exposure to arsenic. Advanced-stage skin lesions, particularly hyperkeratosis have been recognized as precancerous diseases. However, the underlying mechanism of arsenic-induced skin lesions remains unknown. Periostin, a matricellular protein, is implicated in the pathogenesis of many forms of skin lesions. The objective of this study was to examine whether periostin is associated with arsenic-induced skin lesions. A total of 442 individuals from low- (n = 123) and high-arsenic exposure areas (n = 319) in rural Bangladesh were evaluated for the presence of arsenic-induced skin lesions (Yes/No). Participants with skin lesions were further categorized into two groups: early-stage skin lesions (melanosis and keratosis) and advanced-stage skin lesions (hyperkeratosis). Drinking water, hair, and nail arsenic concentrations were considered as the participants' exposure levels. The higher levels of arsenic and serum periostin were significantly associated with skin lesions. Causal mediation analysis revealed the significant effect of arsenic on skin lesions through the mediator, periostin, suggesting that periostin contributes to the development of skin lesions. When skin lesion was used as a three-category outcome (none, early-stage, and advanced-stage skin lesions), higher serum periostin levels were significantly associated with both early-stage and advanced-stage skin lesions. Median (IQR) periostin levels were progressively increased with the increasing severity of skin lesions. Furthermore, there were general trends in increasing serum type 2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, and eotaxin) and immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels with the progression of the disease. The median (IQR) of IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, eotaxin, and IgE levels were significantly higher in the early-and advanced-stage skin lesions compared to the group of participants without skin lesions. The results of this study suggest that periostin is implicated in the pathogenesis and progression of arsenic-induced skin lesions through the dysregulation of type 2 immune response

Comparison of the distribution patterns of serum periostin in the different stages of skin lesions using box and whisker plots.

(A) Comparison between the groups of participants with and without skin lesions (B) Comparison among the participants without, early- and advanced-stage skin lesions groups. The center line indicates the median value, the box contains the 25th to 75th percentiles of the dataset. The whiskers mark the minimum and maximum values. The dots show the individual data points. Mean rank differences were assessed by using the Mann-Whitney U test (A), and the Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Dunn-Bonferroni post hoc test (B) between each skin lesions group. ***p p < 0.05.</p

Comparisons of the levels of type 2 cytokines and IgE in the different stages of skin lesions using box and whisker plots.

Comparisons of IL-4 (A), IL-5 (B), IL-13 (C), eotaxin (D), and IgE (E) levels between the groups of participants with and without skin lesions. The center line indicates the median value, the box contains the 25th to 75th percentiles of the dataset. The whiskers mark the minimum and maximum values. The dots show the individual data points. Mean rank differences were assessed by the Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Dunn-Bonferroni post hoc test between each skin lesions group. ***p p ‡p = 0.075.</p

Comparisons of arsenic exposure levels between the groups of participants with and without skin lesions.

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