Bangladeshi hilsa on way to Kolkata but cloud over quantity
Times of India | 26 September 2024
KOLKATA: The joy of Bangladeshi hilsa hitting Kolkata markets may be short-lived. While the first truck carrying the fish from the Padma-Meghna river system in Bangladesh is set to cross the Benapole-Petrapole border on Thursday, fish importers in Kolkata expect only a fraction of the quantum approved for trade to reach here as hilsa catch has been extremely poor so far and the trading window shuts in a fortnight.
The Bangladesh commerce ministry on Wednesday issued a notification, allowing 49 trading companies to export 50 tonnes of hilsa each.
That would add up to an export of Rs 2,450 tonne, short of the 3,000 tonne export that the commerce ministry had earlier announced. Sources, however, said only a dozen or so companies like Seven Star Fish Processing, Rupali Trading, Pacific Sea Foods, Sazzad Enterprise, Padma Agro Fisheries and Masud Fish Processing were in the fish trade and the rest simply made up the numbers.
Fish Importers' Association secretary Syed Anwar Maqsood, whose letter to the Bangladesh foreign affairs ministry and commerce ministry brought hilsa trade to India before Durga Puja back on track after the fisheries department advisor had repeatedly said that no hilsa would be exported to India this year, said the quantum that finds its way to India could be a tenth of the permitted 3,000 tonnes.
"There is hardly any hilsa landing in Bangladeshi fishing harbours. Since the fishing ban and the trade embargo begins on Oct 12, there are only around 15 days for trade. Last year, we traded for a month but got only 587 tonnes out of 3,950 tonnes that was allowed," he said.
The arrival of low volumes also means that the fish will be dear. Traders at the wholesale fish market in Howrah said they expect Bangladesh hilsa to cost around Rs 1,500 a kg for fish weighing in excess of 1 kg. In the retail market, that price could be Rs 1,800-2,000 a kg. For fish weighing over 1.5 kg, the per kg price could increase by 20%.
Maqsood plans to write to the Bangladesh commerce ministry and urge it to extend the trade period after the 22-day fishing ban ends so that the balance volume can be traded. He hopes the Muhammad Yunus interim government will agree to it as it has reiterated that the hilsa trade is not a gift but an export to earn foreign exchange.
Incidentally, this is the first Durga Puja in several years during which hilsa trade will actually happen. In the recent past, the trade ended days before the festival.