Gujarati hilsa, said to lack taste and aroma, has reached Bangladesh for the first time. Usually Bangladesh exports hilsa to India every year around Durga Puja, but this time the reverse has happened: instead of exports, Gujarati hilsa from India has been imported into Bangladesh for the first time.

Syed Anwar Maksud, secretary of West Bengal's Fish Importers Association, confirmed that about 500 tonnes of Gujarati hilsa have already reached Bangladesh.

He told Jagonews: "Last month we went to Bangladesh with a delegation and met commerce secretary Ataur Rahman Khan and the Indian high commissioner. But there was no discussion then about sending Gujarat hilsa."

Maksud added that Gujarat had produced a large quantity of hilsa this year. "For this reason we decided to send hilsa to Bangladesh before the Puja this time. About 500 tonnes of Gujarati hilsa have already been sent. This is the first time," he said.

He said hilsa production in West Bengal was low this year, but the large supply from Gujarat made exports to Bangladesh possible. The way things are going, more Gujarati hilsa may be exported to Bangladesh, he said.

Large quantities of hilsa from Gujarat, Mumbai and Myanmar have recently entered West Bengal's markets, and there are complaints that these "tasteless and odourless" fish are being sold as delicious Bangladeshi hilsa. Buyers complain that dishonest traders put Indian and Myanmar hilsa in their bags as Bangladeshi fish, and when they cook it at home they find it has none of the taste or aroma.

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