Harnessing the Blue Economy via Assessing Seaweed Export Potential from Bangladesh

This study explores the export potential of Bangladesh’s Seaweed industry as potential pathway for the country’s economic diversification and sustainable development within the Blue Economy framework. It explores strategies of reducing dependence on ready-made garments sector by addressing key factors including Export market orientation, Dynamic capabilities and Institutional support. The research demonstrates the potential for making Bangladesh a competitive player in the global Seaweed market by developing an inclusive and sustainable value chain. This study employs a quantitative method. Primary data was collected through structured questionnaires administered to seaweed farmers in coastal regions like Khulna, Satkhira, and Cox’s Bazar. A six-point Likert scale was used to measure respondents’ perceptions. Snowball sampling was applied to identify 152 Seaweed farmers. Further analysis of Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modelling were done by using IBM SPSS AMOS for hypothesis testing. The study demonstrates that Export Market Orientation and Dynamic Capabilities are important drivers of export potential for Bangladesh Seaweed industry. The findings indicate an institutional support that moderates Export Readiness – Export Potential relationship, which is important for overcoming systemic barriers across supply chains and closed markets. However, the potential to increase export potential through the adoption of this Blue Technology is only limited and it is necessary to strive to a stronger fit with the market demand and more integration into the value chains. The causality between variables in this study is constrained by the reliance on cross sectional data. Although the sample size is statistically adequate, it may not fully capture the variety of stakeholders that Bangladesh's seaweed industry contains. Moreover, our findings, being specific to Bangladesh, should perhaps not be generalized to other socio-economic or cultural contexts. This work offers a unique perspective of how these factors work together to break through systemic barriers and create an inclusive and sustainable seaweed value chain with concrete actionability. This contribution carries original strategies of diversifying Bangladesh’s economy and of rural development in the field of seaweed exports.

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