The Bangladesh Shrimp and Fish Foundation, the Bangladesh Aqua Products Companies Association, and the Shrimp Hatchery Association of Bangladesh, said without tax exemptions and a financial aid package farmers would struggle to resume normal operations. Cyclone Amphan flooded vast expanses of water bodies in the country’s southwest, destroyed infrastructure and farms, and damaged enclosures and ponds, leaders from the organizations said. With some 90% of shrimp farmers having no access to bank loans, farmers in the affected areas have been unable to freshly prepare their enclosures and ponds, procure shrimp post-larvae (PLs) and other inputs. “In order to help the affected shrimp farmers to rehabilitate their ponds and for urgent procurement of PLs and other inputs needed for the shrimp production in the next production cycle, financial assistance may kindly be extended to the shrimp farmers and for this purpose the government may allocate adequate resources,” the letter reads.