News of exports to India has pushed the price of hilsa in Dhaka's markets up by Tk 200 a kilogram. Prices were already high from the start of this season, and the fresh rise has put the national fish beyond the reach of middle- and low-income people.

On 27 September hilsa of about one kilogram each sold in Dhaka's markets for Tk 1,600 to Tk 1,700, against Tk 1,400 to Tk 1,500 just two days earlier. Very small hilsa (200-250 grams each), which used to sell at Tk 500 a kg, cannot now be found for under Tk 700.

Younus Hossain, a fish seller at Rampura bazar, said prices had risen further on the news of exports to India. Less hilsa is arriving from the landing centres, and prices have also gone up in Barishal and Chandpur.

Hilsa trader Kamal Hossain said the hilsa season is nearly over and there is little in the market. There is no chance of prices falling in the remaining days of the season, he said, and the export news has pushed them higher still.

Hilsa weighing more than one kilogram now sells for Tk 1,700 to Tk 1,800, up from Tk 1,400 to Tk 1,600. Fish of 800 to 900 grams cost Tk 1,400, up from Tk 1,200.

As soon as news of the exports spread, prices at the country's hilsa landing centres rose by Tk 8,000 to Tk 16,000 a maund depending on size. Ordinary buyers are angry and frustrated at the high prices.

A 22-day ban on catching hilsa will begin on 13 October ahead of the breeding season, and the hilsa season will end soon after the ban. An eight-month ban on catching jatka (young hilsa) will then follow, so this can be called the last stretch of the hilsa season.

For the coming Durga Puja, the Ministry of Commerce first decided to allow 3,000 tonnes of hilsa to be exported to India. It later stepped back and allowed 2,420 tonnes. Forty-nine firms received export permission: 48 of them will export 50 tonnes each, a total of 2,400 tonnes, and one more will export 20 tonnes.

Monir Hossain, who had come to buy hilsa at Karwan Bazar in the capital, told Jago News: "We can't eat our own country's hilsa. The price of one kilogram of hilsa would buy two kilograms of beef. Yesterday I bought 25 kg of rice for the price of one kilogram of hilsa. That cannot be called a normal price."

"On top of that, I can't understand why the government is exporting hilsa to India," he said. "The new government has walked the same path as before, and ordinary people like us are frustrated."

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