Fish wholesale arot
Auctioning farmers' fish on commission. The rate is about 3 per cent, and holding suppliers means giving interest-free advances - the money is in volume, not margin.
- Last reviewed: 19 September 2026
- Version 1
Fish wholesale arot
- Starting capital
- ৳2,00,000 – ৳15,00,000 Editorial estimate
- Manpower
- 3 – 12 people
- First sale
- 15 – 60 days Editorial estimate
- Break-even
- 4 – 8 months Editorial estimate
- Kind of work
- Shop · Hard
About the business
A fish arot auctions the fish that farmers and fishermen bring in and keeps a commission on the sale value. The arotdar does not buy the fish, so a price crash or a spoiled lot is the farmer's loss, not his. But holding on to suppliers costs money in advance, and that advance is dadon - which is what makes an arot a lending business wearing a trading coat. A statistically representative survey of 229 wholesalers across 31 markets in seven southern districts found that 95 per cent of auctioneers give dadon to regular suppliers, that farmers pay no interest on it, and that in exchange they are obliged to sell through that arot for the year. The commission was 2.9 per cent from farmers who had taken dadon and 3.1 per cent from those who had not - so the advance does not buy a worse rate, it buys supply. Money moves fast: 97 per cent of wholesalers are paid with a delay of two to four days on about 89 per cent of the sale value, and they pass the same delay up to their suppliers. On 15 September 2026 Dhaka wholesale prices were farmed rui Tk 290-400, katla Tk 260-380, pangas Tk 130-190 and tilapia Tk 120-200 per kg, against a retail rui price of Tk 300-450 the same day. The gap is thin because the lot clears the same day. Income is commission, and commission is volume.
Unit economics
| Item | Range | Evidence | Suggest a correction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly working capital | ৳1,00,000 – ৳8,00,000 | Editorial estimate | |
| Selling price | ৳120 – ৳400 / kg | Official source | |
| Variable cost | ৳116 – ৳390 / kg | Editorial estimate | |
| Gross margin | 2% – 4% | Practitioner verified | |
| Time to first revenue | 15 – 60 days | Editorial estimate | |
| Break-even time | 4 – 8 months | Editorial estimate | |
| Cash cycle | 2 – 4 days | Practitioner verified | |
| Waste / loss | 0% – 1% | Practitioner verified | |
| Daily capacity | 500 – 4,000 | Editorial estimate |
What you need to start
- Heavy scales, plastic tubs and crates, ice-breaking tools, a stainless steel table and a ledger. In the survey 96 per cent of depots and 28 per cent of auctioneers used stainless steel tables.Equipment
- Cash held for dadon. It is not stock, but it is the arot's real capital - 95 per cent of auctioneers in the survey gave dadon to regular suppliers.Starting stock
- Trade licence from the city corporation or municipality: form Tk 10, licence book Tk 50, standard tax Tk 30, stamp Tk 150-300, licence fee Tk 100-60,000 by trade type. Issued in three to five working days.Licence
- Agricultural marketing licence from the Department of Agricultural Marketing. Form-1 is the prescribed application and renewal form for arotdars and wholesalers under the agricultural marketing law. The fee is paid online; the rate could not be verified here.Licence
- Calling an auction, judging fish size and grade by eye, and knowing which farmer's dadon will come back.Skill
- Farmers or fishermen who supply regularly. In the survey 89 per cent of farmers' fish was sold through auctioneers, so the supply line is the real asset.Supplier
- A stall inside the market with water, drainage, space for ice and truck access. Rent and the up-front premium vary by market.Workspace
How the work is done
- 1Find a stall in a market where fish actually lands. Water, ice and truck access - without all three an arot does not work.
- 2Take the trade licence from the city corporation or municipality, with 'fish arot' written as the trade.
- 3Apply for the agricultural marketing licence from the Department of Agricultural Marketing on Form-1; it is renewed periodically.
- 4Line up farmers. Decide which ponds and farms will supply you regularly - no fish landing means no commission.
- 5Decide the dadon. Who gets how much advance, when it is recovered, and what happens if it is not - write it down, because this trade runs on verbal agreement alone.
- 6Hire your auction caller and weighing hands. Salaries are an auctioneer's biggest cost - 60 per cent of total costs in the survey.
- 7Fix a reliable ice and water supply. Fish delivered alive fetches a 5-10 per cent premium over fish delivered dead.
- 8Run the auction at dawn, let the open bidding set the price, and enter every lot's weight and price in the book.
- 9Deduct the commission from the sale proceeds, pay the farmer the rest, and recover the dadon in instalments out of the same payments.
- 10Collect the buyers' balance within two to four days. You owe your suppliers the same delay, so if the two do not match the squeeze comes from both sides.
- 11At year end, see whose dadon did not come back. What does not is rolled over to the next year - that happened in 28 per cent of cases in the survey.
Seasons
- JanNormal
- FebNormal
- MarNormal
- AprNormal
- MayNormal
- JunNormal
- JulHigh
- AugHigh
- SepHigh
- OctLow
- NovHigh
- DecHigh
Where it works well
- Strong fitBarishal · A river-fish and hilsa hub, where volumes jump sharply in season.
- Strong fitChandpur · A major hilsa landing centre - packed in season, close to shut during the ban.
- Strong fitDhaka · The Jatrabari fish arot is one of the eleven markets the Department of Agricultural Marketing samples for its Dhaka wholesale price sheet; fish from the whole country breaks bulk here.
- Strong fitJashore · A large fish and fingerling centre, and one of the seven southern districts covered by the survey.
- Strong fitKhulna · A shrimp and fish farming district; the survey found depots channel product from here to processing factories.
- Strong fitMymensingh · A major pond-aquaculture belt, so landings at the arot do not stop through the year.
- PossibleBagerhat · Both shrimp and white fish land here, though much of it goes straight on to Khulna.
- PossibleChattogram · Big-city demand and processing factories are both close; the survey names this district as a main destination for depots.
- PossibleCox's Bazar · A marine fish arot is a different animal - here the dadon runs to fishermen and trawler owners, not farmers.
- PossiblePatuakhali · Both coastal catch and farmed fish come in, but transport costs are higher.
- PossibleSatkhira · Enclosure farming country, where shrimp depots and fish arots sit side by side.
Risks and cautions
- MediumLate payment: Buyers pay about 89 per cent of the value two to four days later. This happened to 97 per cent of surveyed wholesalers, so it is the rule, not the exception. If one large buyer holds back, you hold back the farmer, and the farmer takes his next consignment elsewhere.
- MediumDemand: Across the whole chain the price of fish rises only about 10 per cent from farm to retail, per the CPD study released on 30 July 2026. There is very little room to cut in the middle. Try to take more and the buyer walks, because the open auction sets the price in front of everybody.
- LowSpoilage: Spoilage is the smallest risk here, because lots clear the same day and the arotdar never owns the fish. Still, without ice or power live fish die, and dead fish fetch 5-10 per cent less - the farmer takes the loss, but the arotdar's commission shrinks with it.
- HighWorking capital: Dadon is interest-free and undocumented - purely verbal, resting on an old relationship. The survey found 64 per cent of advances were fully repaid within the year, but 28 per cent were left outstanding and rolled into the next. If disease hits the farmer's pond, or he takes his fish to another arot, there is no legal route to that money.
- HighDependency: Income is all commission and commission is all volume. At 2.9-3.1 per cent, a fall in landings cuts income immediately while salaries - 60 per cent of an auctioneer's costs - do not fall. A new arot opening nearby can take the farmers, because these markets are far more competitive than they used to be.
Videos and interviews
27:49
3:25
5:31Earning Tk 1 lakh a month in the sea fish business with only Tk 15,000 capital | Fish business | Fish wholesale market
চাকরি নয় ব্যবসা\cakri noy bebsa
3:02Stories about this business
A Mongla arot owner bought two rare dantina bhol fish for Tk 18.5 lakh at a Dublar Char auction
A Mongla arot owner bought two rare bhol fish, weighing 63.5 kg together, at an auction at Dublar Char in the Sundarbans. They were sent to Chattogram in hope of a higher price, but the report gives no final sale result.
- Reasons
- Working capital, Weak demand
At a Kuakata arot, one trawler's 195 maunds of hilsa auctioned for Tk 40.14 lakh
At an arot at Alipur fish landing centre in Patuakhali, one trawler's 195 maunds of hilsa sold at auction for Tk 40.14 lakh. The trawler owner said catches had been low for a long time and caused losses, which this sale would partly make up.
- Reasons
- Weak demand, Price drop
Two and a half crore taka of fish in a three-hour market
The Dipnagar market, started in 2009, turns over 2 to 2.5 crore taka between 6 and 9 a.m. each day, including around 40,000 kg of pangash.
- Reasons
- Good location, Weak demand
Entrepreneurs in this business
The people running this business today — you can visit them, ask questions and learn.
New Mama Enterprise
Fish wholesale arot
A mud eel depot in Rupsha sending 150 tonnes a year to exporters in Dhaka
Rupsha, Khulna
- Sells products
M/S Five Star Fish
Fish wholesale arot
A fish auction house at Alipur fish landing centre, selling trawlers' hilsa by auction
Kalapara, Patuakhali
- Sells products
- Visitors welcome
Moni Fish
Fish wholesale arot
A fish arot at Kuakata fish market, selling fishermen's catch by open auction
Kalapara, Patuakhali
- Sells products
- Visitors welcome
Jamjam Fish
Fish wholesale arot
A fish arot at Alipur fish port where fishermen's large hilsa are sold by auction
Kalapara, Patuakhali
- Sells products
- Visitors welcome
Gazi Fish
Fish wholesale arot · Fresh fish from landing sites to town
A fish trading business at Kuakata Mayor Bazar that buys large hilsa at auction and resells
Kalapara, Patuakhali
- Sells products
রেজাউল মণ্ডলের আড়ত
Fish wholesale arot
A Daulatdia Ghat Bazar arot where Padma pangas and bagair are auctioned
Goalanda, Rajbari
- Sells products
Where to buy
বাংলাদেশ মৎস্য উন্নয়ন কর্পোরেশন (বিএফডিসি)
Runs the government fish landing centres and wholesale fish markets, with trading, ice and processing facilities for fish businesses.
বিএফডিসি ভবন, ২৩-২৪, কাওরান বাজার, তেজগাঁও, ঢাকা-১২১৫, DhakaUsed by 4 businesses
কৃষি বিপণন অধিদপ্তর
The agricultural marketing department: daily market prices, market linkage, and the licence for trading farm produce.
খামারবাড়ী, প্রথম ভবন, ৫ম তলা, ফার্মগেট, ঢাকা–১২১৫, DhakaUsed by 6 businesses
জেলা মৎস্য কর্মকর্তার কার্যালয়, বগুড়া
Bogura's district fisheries office: where to get fingerlings, pond fish-farming advice, and hatchery and fish-farm registration.
জেলা মৎস্য দপ্তর, কৈগাড়ী, বগুড়া, BoguraUsed by 5 businesses
বাংলাদেশ ফিশ এক্সপোর্টার্স অ্যান্ড ইমপোর্টার্স অ্যাসোসিয়েশন
Based at Karwan Bazar; the association of fish exporters and importers and a way into the wholesale fish trade.
22/6, Karwan Bazar Lane, Tejgaon, Dhaka-1215. Cell: 01911-360454, 01716-240540, 01715-168006, 01714729254Used by 3 businesses
বাংলাদেশ ফিশিং ইন্ডাস্ট্রিজ অ্যাসোসিয়েশন
Based at Agrabad in Chattogram; the association of the marine fishing and fish processing industry.
"Anowara Akmal Chamber", 232, Sk. Mujib Road, Chowmuhoni Mour, Agrabad, Chattogram. Mob: 01706-762045, 01707-074774Used by 4 businesses
বাংলাদেশ সল্টেড অ্যান্ড ডিহাইড্রেটেড মেরিন ফুডস এক্সপোর্টার্স অ্যাসোসিয়েশন
The Cox's Bazar association of dried and salted marine food exporters — the way into the shutki (dried fish) trade.
C/o. Sagar Cold Storage (2nd floor), Air Port Road, North Nuniachata, Cox's Bazar. Tel: 034164555Used by 3 businesses
বাংলাদেশ লাইভ অ্যান্ড চিল্ড ফুড এক্সপোর্টার্স অ্যাসোসিয়েশন
The association of live and chilled food exporters (fish, crab, vegetables) — relevant to anyone shipping through a cold chain.
House # 41(A/4), Sonargaon Janapath, Sector-12, Uttara, Dhaka-1230. Tel: 8918893, 8952541; Mob: 01677114411, 01819217980Used by 4 businesses
খুলনা চেম্বার অব কমার্স অ্যান্ড ইন্ডাস্ট্রি
Khulna's business body in the KDA area — local contact for the shrimp, fish and Mongla port trades.
Chamber Mansion, 5 KDA C/A, Jashore Road, Khulna. Tel: 02477-728245, 721745, 721695, 723386, 728243; Fax: 02477725635Used by 4 businesses
কৃষি বিপণন অধিদপ্তর: দৈনিক বাজারদর অনলাইন
The government's online market-price service, showing daily wholesale and retail prices from markets across the country so a trader can check rates before buying or selling.
DhakaUsed by 8 businesses
আখাউড়া স্থলবন্দর
A land port at Akhaura in Brahmanbaria facing Agartala in India's Tripura — fish, edible oil, cement, plastic goods and steel rods go out; fruit, coal, fertiliser and limestone come in.
আখাউড়া স্থলবন্দর, আখাউড়া, ব্রাহ্মণবাড়িয়া, BrahmanbariaUsed by 4 businesses
টেকনাফ স্থলবন্দর
A land port on the Naf river at Teknaf, Cox's Bazar, trading with Myanmar — ginger, fish, onion, pickles, timber and tamarind come in; potato, plastic goods, aluminium ware, garments, biscuits and jute products go out.
টেকনাফ স্থলবন্দর, টেকনাফ, কক্সবাজার, Cox's BazarUsed by 5 businesses
মৎস্য অধিদপ্তর
Advice on fish and shrimp farming, hatchery and farm registration, and quality certification for export.
DhakaUsed by 7 businesses
Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association (BFFEA)
Association of frozen shrimp and fish exporters — membership, export documentation and market information.
Skylark Point (10th Floor), 24/A Bijoy Nagar, North South Road, Dhaka-1000, BangladeshUsed by 3 businesses
Sources
কৃষি বিপণন লাইসেন্স — ফরম-১ (লাইসেন্স গ্রহণ ও নবায়নের জন্য আবেদন)
Collected: 16 Sept 2026Supports: Starting capital · বাংলাদেশ
সিটি কর্পোরেশন থেকে ট্রেড লাইসেন্স প্রাপ্তির ধাপ সমূহ
Collected: 16 Sept 2026Supports: Starting capital · বাংলাদেশ
- Collected: 15 Sept 2026
Supports: Selling price · ঢাকা মহানগর — সিপাহীবাগ, মিরপুর-৬, মোহাম্মদপুর টাউন হল, নিউমার্কেট, রামপুরা, মহাখালী বাজার
ঢাকা মহানগরীর বাজারসমূহের নিত্য প্রয়োজনীয় কৃষিপণ্যের পাইকারী বাজারদর, ১৫-০৯-২০২৬
Collected: 15 Sept 2026Supports: Selling price · ঢাকা মহানগরী (১১টি বাজার)
What changed
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