The hilsa season is nearly over and there is plenty of hilsa in the markets, yet prices are heading the wrong way. Small, medium and large hilsa are all widely available, but prices have risen by Tk 200 to 300 a kg in a week.

Hilsa weighing over a kilo is selling for Tk 2,600 to 3,000 a kg. Fish of 700 to 900 grams cost Tk 1,600 to 2,000 a kg, and jatka (young hilsa) sells for Tk 600 to 800 a kg.

That was the picture at the Kazipara, Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Hatirpool and Rampura markets in the capital on Friday, 5 September. The prices of other fish have also risen in these markets.

Rui and katla sell for Tk 340 to 360 a kg, shing for Tk 400 to 500 and pabda for Tk 500 to 600. Pangas, tilapia and silver carp cost Tk 220 to 260. Small fish such as kajoli, tengra, shrimp and bacha sell for Tk 700 to 1,200 a kg.

Rubel Hasan, a trader at Hatirpool kitchen market, told Jago News that less fish is arriving this year. "Fishermen are not getting fish in the sea, so supply is low and prices are high."

Shafiuzzaman, a seller at Mohammadpur Town Hall market, said everyone looks for large hilsa but large hilsa is scarce, while the market is full of small and medium fish.

Another seller claimed that as demand rises towards the end of the season, prices have gone up by Tk 200 to 300 a kg depending on size.

College teacher Nurul Hasan was buying fish at a temporary footpath market in Kazipara. He told Jago News that although fish feed prices have fallen, farmed fish remain expensive. "There is no fish under Tk 200. The government could set prices for farmed fish if it wanted."

Construction worker Swapan Sarkar said hilsa is no longer within reach of the poor. "Buying one medium-sized hilsa costs two days' earnings. So I am forced to buy jatka, but jatka does not have the real taste of hilsa."

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