About 103 tonnes of hilsa were exported to India through Benapole port in seven days, and 1,200 tonnes through the country's various ports.

Sajib Saha, fisheries quarantine officer at Benapole, gave the figures to the media on 28 September.

He said that although exports had begun under special government permission, many firms had still not been able to send any hilsa to India. The deadline is 5 October, but because of the hilsa breeding season no exports will be made from midnight on 4 October. In the past seven days, 102 tonnes 834 kg of hilsa had gone to India through Benapole, he said.

Traders, meanwhile, are holding back shipments for fear of losses. Uncertainty has gripped hilsa wholesale centres in Chandpur, Patuakhali, Bhola, Barishal and elsewhere, as exporters stopped buying from the day after exports began. They say buying at high prices and exporting at a lower one means a loss. Traders in Kolkata, where the market has enough hilsa, are also not keen to buy. At home, hilsa remains beyond the reach of ordinary people.

According to traders, prices have been high since the season began because not enough hilsa has been caught in the sea and rivers. Export-grade hilsa (over 600 grams) sells wholesale for Tk 1,800 a kg, and fish of one kilogram or more for Tk 2,200 to Tk 2,500. Packing and transport to Benapole add Tk 100 to Tk 130 a kg, so exporting at the Tk 1,533 a kg set by the Ministry of Commerce would mean a big loss.

Nurul Amin Biswas, owner of Biswas Traders, a hilsa exporter in Benapole, said he had permission to export 30 tonnes but had not yet been able to send any.

Abdul Kuddus, owner of Janata Fish at Bagachra in Sharsha and a large hilsa exporter, said the same. Shahajalal Sohel, owner of Mahatab and Sons in Benapole, said: "We have each been given permission to export 30 tonnes. Because of rising prices and the shortage of hilsa in the market, we have not been able to export any so far."

Rezaul Islam Khokon of Shotota Fish in Benapole said his firm had permission for 40 tonnes this year. It exported only 3 tonnes on the first day, and none since, because fish could not be found and prices had risen.

According to the Benapole fisheries office, exports to India began on 17 September, when 37,460 kg went in eight trucks. A further 26,358 kg was exported on 18 September, 6,000 kg on 20 September, 11,760 kg on 23 September, 2,000 kg on 24 September, 6,000 kg on 25 September and 12,896 kg on 27 September.

That brings the total through Benapole in seven days to 102 tonnes 834 kg (1,02,834 kg). This year hilsa is being exported at $12.5 a kg, or Tk 1,533. Although hilsa exports are banned, the government allowed 1,200 tonnes to go to India for Durga Puja. The permission went to 37 firms: one firm for 50 tonnes, 25 firms for 30 tonnes each (750 tonnes), nine firms for 40 tonnes each (360 tonnes) and two firms for 20 tonnes each (40 tonnes).

People in Jashore and across the country are angry about the exports. A one-kilogram hilsa sells at home for Tk 2,000 to Tk 2,200, yet it is being exported to India for Tk 1,533, and how that is possible is being debated nationwide. One source among traders, however, said hilsa is not actually being exported at that price. News of the exports has caused a shortage in markets in and around Benapole, and prices have risen so sharply that the national fish is out of ordinary buyers' reach.

Bikash Debnath, owner of Joy Matsya Bhandar at Benapole market, said he could not understand how hilsa was being exported at Tk 1,533 a kg when a one-kilogram fish sells for more than Tk 2,000 locally. Hilsa of 700 to 800 grams is selling at Tk 1,500 a kg, he said, but there are hardly any buyers.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.