B’desh’s gift of 1,200 MT of hilsa to Bengal
The Statesman | 9 September 2025Last year, Bangladesh had approved 2,420 MT of silver fish of the Padma to India but only 577 MT had reached.
On Monday, the commerce ministry of the interim government, slashing the quantity by more than 50 per cent, issued a notification asking its exporters to submit applications to the ministry for exporting the freshwater fish to its neighbouring country.
The commerce ministry in Dhaka has asked the exporters to send all requisite documents to the former’s export division by 5 p.m. on 11 September otherwise applications made after the deadline won’t be accepted.
With requests from fish importers’ associations in India, the commerce ministry of Bangladesh decided that 1,200 tonnes of Hilsa would be exported to India.
Fish Importer’s Association (FIA) in Kolkata had made an appeal to Tauhid Hossain, an advisor to the Bangladesh government, requesting him not to set any timeframe for exporting Hilsa to India.
In its letter written to Mr Hossain 29 July, the FIA secretary Syed Anwar Maqsood stated, “It would be worthy to note that almost every year we failed to consume the full quantity of hilsa fish permitted due to the reason that the export permits are time-bound, like the entire quantity have to be exported within 30 to 45 days’ time. Such a timeframe is actually insufficient for exporting such a huge quantity. As such we may suggest you and also request you please consider giving hilsa fish export permissions without any timeframe.”
Even when Bangladesh had banned the export of the fish to India, exceptions were made considering the festive season. It was former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had reintroduced what is now called, ‘hilsa diplomacy’. More than 2,000 tonnes of hilsa on an average from the Padma river had been exported to India since 2019 in the run-up to Durga Puja.
This move by the country’s interim government is akin to denying basic rights to Bengalis. Bangladeshi ilish from Padma, a distributary of river Ganga, is essential to Bengali Puja food.
Fish importers said that every year several hundred tonnes of Hilsa is imported to Bengal via the Petrapole land customs station.
“Between September 2019 and 2023, the government of Bangladesh had allowed the export of Hilsa as a goodwill gesture during Durga Puja. We humbly request the interim government to allow the export even this year,” according to an importer in Howrah.
Last year, the first consignment of Padma ilish arrived in Bengal from Bangladesh through the Petrapole land port on 21 September. Nine cargo trucks, each carrying five tonnes of Hilsa, had come from Barisal.
