Late in the season, the supply of hilsa has risen at the Borostation fish ghat in Chandpur, one of the country's main fish landing centres. But it has had no effect on prices, and the prized hilsa is still selling dear. Traders say supply is low compared with buyers' demand, which is why prices are high.

Chandpur's Borostation fish ghat buzzes with buyers and sellers every day from 9am to 10pm. A month ago the daily hilsa supply here was 150 to 200 maunds; now supply has risen by 300 to 400 maunds. In proportion, hilsa should have been selling at Tk 1,200 to Tk 1,300 a kg, but the picture is different: 1-kg hilsa now sell for Tk 1,500 to Tk 1,700, and buyers are angry.

Alamgir Soyal, Soleman Motayer and Musa Patwari fish in the Padma and Meghna. "It is now the peak hilsa season. Although fewer hilsa are being caught in the river, prices are high at the wholesale market. The hilsa bought from us is auctioned at a higher price and sold on for more. Then it changes hands several times. That is why prices are high," they said.

Faiz Dhali and Nabir Hossain, hilsa traders at the Chandpur fish ghat, said: "Plenty of buyers have been coming to the ghat for several days. Hilsa supply has also risen compared with before, but prices have not come down. There are often arguments with buyers over prices. There are more buyers than fish, which is why prices are higher. At present hilsa is selling for Tk 1,500 to Tk 1,600 a kg, and hilsa under 1 kg for Tk 1,100 to Tk 1,200."

He said the price of hilsa is set by the daily supply. "There is no syndicate here. Prices are a little high because of demand."

Ibrahim Khalil, a resident of Chandpur town, said: "I bought 78 kg of hilsa to send to relatives in Dhaka. It cost Tk 1,600 to Tk 1,700 a kg. I wanted to buy more but could not because of the high price."

S M Shahin, who came from Narsingdi to buy hilsa, said: "I came to the Chandpur fish ghat, known as the home of hilsa, to buy it cheaply. But here I find a different picture. Hilsa is very expensive; they are asking Tk 1,700 for a 1-kg fish. I cannot understand why prices are so high. A syndicate works here, and people are helpless before them."

Shab-e-Barat Sarkar, general secretary of the Chandpur Fish Traders' Association, said 500 to 700 maunds of hilsa are being sold at the Chandpur fish ghat every day, and sometimes a thousand maunds arrive. Buyers are coming from all over the country, but there is no certainty about supply. "If supply is low and demand is high, prices rise naturally. We hope prices will fall when supply increases," he said.

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