Hilsa supply in the capital's markets has jumped and prices are heading down, yet the number of buyers has fallen alarmingly. It was a working day, but traders and shoppers also point to a rumour — and something close to panic — that 'Gujarat hilsa' from India has entered the market, leaving buyers unable to tell the real fish from the fake.

That was the picture on Wednesday, 16 September, at the Mirpur-2, 10, 13 and 14 markets, the Mohammadpur Krishi Market and the Kalmilata market at Farmgate. Depending on size, hilsa was Tk 200 to 500 a kilo cheaper.

Fish above one kilogram, which sold for Tk 2,500 to 3,000, is now Tk 2,000 to 2,500. Fish of 600 to 900 grams has come down from Tk 2,000 to Tk 1,800-2,000; 500-gram hilsa from Tk 1,500 to Tk 1,200; and small 200-gram fish from Tk 800-1,000 to Tk 600-700.

Traders said that where two or three sellers in a market used to hold at most 2 to 5 kg of hilsa, four or five sellers now hold 5 to 10 kg each. With the government's breeding-season fishing ban approaching, fishermen are catching as much as they can in the rivers and at sea — one of the main reasons supply has risen.

Buyers, however, are scarce. At the Mirpur-2 market, eight hilsa stalls saw just six customers between 9am and 9.30am, and only two of them bought anything; Mohammadpur Krishi Market was somewhat busier. Azizul Islam, shopping at Mirpur-13, said Gujarat hilsa is supposed to look exactly like the local fish and there is no way to know which is which. Rafiqul Mia, a seller at the same market, insisted no Gujarat hilsa had reached Mirpur and everything on his slab was Bangladeshi.

People who know fish offer a few ways to tell Padma-Meghna hilsa from Gujarat or sardine-type look-alikes: the local fish is well-built, flat and gently curved towards the belly, while the other is slimmer and longer; the local fish gleams bright silver, while the imported one has a darker, greenish back and rougher scales; the local fish has small, clear eyes and a small mouth, while a sardine-type fish has a head and eyes that look large for its body; and fresh local hilsa has a distinct aroma, whereas long-frozen imported fish smells strongly of frozen fish.

For fishermen and wholesalers, a supply surge and a price fall at the end of the peak season and just before the breeding ban matter a great deal — and if imported fish is not clearly labelled, it is the market for the local hilsa that loses buyers' trust.

Source: banglanews24