"For the price of a one-kilo hilsa you can buy 3kg of beef. Why would people buy big hilsa? Small hilsa don't taste bad."

So said Abdur Rahman, who had come to buy hilsa at a market in Mirpur in the capital. He paid Tk 2,600 for 2kg of small hilsa, each weighing about half a kilo.

Three shops at Muslim Bazar in Mirpur Section 12 are selling hilsa. One has fish of one kilo or more alongside smaller ones; hilsa of half a kilo or less are selling well, but the big fish lie unsold. The other two shops have only small hilsa, and they too were crowded with buyers. The supply situation was the same at Haji Kujrat Ali Market in Section 12 and the kitchen market in Section 11. This was the picture on the morning of 22 August.

Hilsa of one kilo or more are selling for Tk 2,500-2,700, half-kilo fish for Tk 1,250-1,400, and jatka or small hilsa (three to a kilo) for Tk 800-850.

Buyers and sellers said hilsa prices have risen by Tk 200-300 in a week. Last week one-kilo hilsa sold for Tk 2,200-2,400, and jatka (three or four to a kilo) for Tk 600-700 a kg.

Masud, a trader at Muslim Bazar, was calling out to customers outside his shop. He said sales of fish of one kilo or more are low because of the price, and customers are bargaining for small hilsa instead.

Another seller at Muslim Bazar said there are fewer hilsa at sea this time and prices are high in the wholesale market. Customers can afford small hilsa at Tk 800-850, he said.

Sukur Molla, a seller at Kujrat Ali Market, said everyone knows hilsa is expensive. Those who are a little well-off and want to eat good things buy big hilsa, and however many fish are brought in, they sell.

Siraj Ahmed, a salaried worker at the Mirpur 11 kitchen market, said it is the peak season, yet prices are very high. Prices may not fall this season, he said; hilsa has become a rich man's fish.

Traders at Karwan Bazar, Rampura, Hatirpool and New Market also said hilsa prices had risen by Tk 200-300 a kg in a week, for large, medium and small fish alike. In these markets hilsa of one kilo or more are selling for Tk 2,300-2,700.

DM Kamrul Hossain, a trader at Rampura market, said supply was lower this week than last and prices were a little higher.

Shafiqul Islam, a trader at Karwan Bazar, a major hilsa wholesale hub, said a low-pressure system meant fishers could not go to sea. The catch is smaller and prices somewhat higher.

At Hatirpool market one-kilo hilsa are selling for Tk 2,600-2,700. Traders said prices could fall if supply to the market rises.

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