Exports of omasum, pizzle enjoy great potentials

Exports of entrails and pizzle are facing difficulties due to Covid-19 pandemic at home and elsewhere across the globe, exporters said.

Had there been no Covid-19 pandemic, the country’s entrails and pizzles could have fetched Tk 600 crore in the last one year against their current trade of Tk 320 crore, they said.

The demand for bulls’ and buffalos’ entrails (omasum) and pizzles is increasing worldwide, especially where ethnic Chinese people live.

These internal organs of animals are used to prepare high quality soups and salads which are very popular among the ethnic Chinese people, local exporters said.

Even in the Coronavirus pandemic crisis, the export of this unconventional product has surpassed Tk 320 crore.

Bangladesh's main importers of these organs are China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Vietnam.

The best season to collect these animal organs is Eid-ul-Azha when millions of bulls, buffalos and goats are slaughtered.

With the increase in export volumes, the traders of this sector have taken an initiative to form a new business association, named ‘Bangladesh Entrepreneurship and Exporters Association.’ Earlier, once the bulls were slaughtered, the remains were dumped in the canals or rivers, polluting the environment. But, after knowing that these products are valued in many countries of the world, a new class of exporters came up and started shipping those organs.

The local name of the third stomach of a bull is 'Satpalla, or omasum in English. And, the penis is called 'pizzle'.

Mohammad Ali, a member of the Bangladesh Omasum Exporters Association, told Business Insider Bangladesh that omasum exports fell by 50 percent this year due to the coronavirus pandemic across the world.

Now, on an average, some 14 containers of omasum are being exported every month.

Ali said: "My suggestion is that after slaughtering bulls and buffaloes, those organs need to be collected and preserved in some salt.”

He said such a trade would generate employment and fetch more foreign currency in the future.

At present 40 traders from all over the country including 10 from Chittagong are exporting bull omasum and pizzles. People in villages collect omasum and pizzles throughout the year. One third of the total supplies come from the Eid-ul-Azha season.

During the pandemic, 14 containers of omasum are being exported through Chittagong Seaport every month and each container contains some 60,000 to 70,000 pieces of omasum, said a member of the proposed association. Currently some eight thousand dollars are earned a month.

One ton of omasam in Bangladeshi currency stands around Tk 6,80,000 (considering $1 =Tk 85). A total of 28 tons of omasum could be accommodated in a container. Currently, 168 containers of omasum are being exported every year and that the country is getting Tk 319.80 crore

Storekeepers buy raw (salted) pizzles from butchers or small traders at Tk 50 to Tk 60 per piece. At the end of processing, it is sold to the exporter at Tk 550- Tk 650 per kilogram.

From one metric ton of omasum, some 700 kgs could be retained as finished product, exporters said.

Most of the country's omasum exporters are from Chittagong region. Among them are Sky Net Sea Foods Company, Conference Trade International, Cambridge Sea Food International, RSM Trade International, Standard Allied Food International, GR Expo International and Vivid Agro Industries limited.

According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), in the 2014-15 financial year, the omasam exports had fetched Tk 117.06 crore. However, the Omasum Export Association claims that in the 2015-16 financial year, the shipment had exceeded Tk 150 crore. The association said the global market of omasum is worth Tk 32,000 crore.