Chandpur's hilsa market has come alive at the end of the season. On Friday (19 September), a holiday, buyers crowded the Boro Station fish landing centre, one of the country's main fish landing centres. But with supply low, hilsa prices have shot up.

Despite the low supply, buyers' interest in hilsa has not faded. So even as the market bustles, ordinary buyers are struggling to buy.

Buyers complain that the supply shortage means they cannot buy as much hilsa as they want. They believe hilsa should be exported only after domestic demand is met, and call it unreasonable to export to a neighbouring country while local buyers have to pay extra.

Zahidul Islam, who came to buy hilsa, said: "I came to the Chandpur landing from Dhaka with friends, but hearing the prices put me off buying. Hilsa is even cheaper in Dhaka than here. We cannot get to eat hilsa, while the government sends it to the neighbouring country. The government should control hilsa prices."

Hilsa trader Nabir Hossain said only 300 maunds of hilsa arrived at Boro Station on Friday, when at this time in the peak season supply used to be 1,000 to 1,500 maunds. One-kilogram hilsa is now selling for Tk 2,300 to 2,400, while fish under a kilogram, of 700 to 800 grams, sell for Tk 2,000.

Shab-e-Barat Sarkar, general secretary of the Chandpur Matsya Banik Samity, said exports to the neighbouring country had had no effect on the Chandpur landing. Prices are not falling mainly because there is no supply, he said. A few days of the season remain, and supply may rise somewhat in that time.

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