While Kolkata waits for Bangladeshi hilsa in the season, the opposite is happening: hilsa is going from India to Bangladesh. About 500 metric tonnes have been sent from Gujarat over the past two months, and roughly 200 tonnes more are due to leave Howrah's wholesale fish market for Bangladesh within a week, according to Syed Anwar Maksud, secretary of the Howrah Fish Importers' Association.

India exports boal, rui, parshe, tengra and other fish to Bangladesh, but those involved regard hilsa exports as practically unprecedented. Large quantities of roe-laden hilsa have been landed this monsoon at the seaport of Bharuch in Gujarat, and because there is demand for roe-laden hilsa in Bangladesh's domestic market, that is the fish being sent.

Gujarat hilsa is large and attractive, Syed Anwar Maksud said, but being full of roe and salty it tastes comparatively poor, so it is cheaper; the shipments are essentially a trial run. Demand for roe-laden hilsa is highest in Chattogram and Sylhet, he said, where the roe is extracted, processed and exported, and the fish is then dried and sold in local markets.

Hilsa is caught in many parts of India, from Bharuch in Gujarat to Kakdwip, Kolaghat and Digha in West Bengal, but on taste Bangladeshi hilsa still tops the Kolkata list. That is why the association is again trying to bring Bangladeshi hilsa across for the Puja season — though whether any will reach Kolkata this year is not yet clear.

Maksud said Bangladesh has banned hilsa exports since 2012, though some fish has come to India under special permission during the Pujas in recent years. Letters have gone to the relevant Bangladesh ministry again this year, and to the Prime Minister's Office, the foreign ministry and the commerce ministry, asking for prompt shipments and a relaxation of the export ban.

A delegation from Kolkata visited Dhaka last month and held positive talks on hilsa exports with Bangladesh's commerce secretary, Maksud said. The discussions were constructive, he claims, and Bangladeshi hilsa could soon be on its way; all that remains is the Bangladesh government's final decision.

Source: banglanews24