With the Puja season approaching, demand for hilsa has risen in Kolkata's markets, and prices are climbing with it. Fresh hilsa of one kilogram or more are especially scarce. Some buyers are settling for smaller fresh hilsa, while others are relying on fish from cold stores.

Buying large, good-quality hilsa costs even more. Traders say demand rises every year before Ranna Puja, when many families cook the next day's food in advance, and hilsa has a special place on that menu.

This year the extra demand has been compounded by a short supply of large hilsa, sending the price of the prized fish sky-high.

West Bengal fishers working in the Bay of Bengal say they are catching mostly small hilsa this year. Fish of one kilogram or more are comparatively few.

Bad weather has added to the problem. It has made deep-sea fishing risky, and many fishers do not want to stay out at sea for long in the hope of large hilsa.

Fisherman Tarapada Das said there are now more small hilsa in the sea and many are caught together. But because the chance of catching fish in the deep sea in search of large hilsa is low, many fishers do not want to take the risk.

Some fishers also blame the use of monofilament nets for the decline. They say Category-1 and Category-2 monofilament nets have come into wider use in place of traditional rope nets.

These nets, with a mesh of about 70 to 75 mm, catch mostly small and medium hilsa, they allege, so the supply of large hilsa at landing centres is falling.

Satinath Patra, secretary of the Sundarban Marine Fishermen Workers' Union, said hilsa of 500 to 800 grams are what is mostly being caught now.

In his view, 500-gram hilsa are also in special demand, as many buyers prefer this size for Vishwakarma Puja or Ranna Puja.

But he alleged that some traders are buying fish at high prices and holding them back before release to market, expecting prices to rise further during the festival.

Traders said hilsa had been stockpiled over the past two months to meet the extra Ranna Puja demand. About 25 cold stores in Digha, Namkhana, Diamond Harbour and Kolkata are thought to hold hilsa.

Joydeb Hati, owner of one such cold store, said Myanmar hilsa had been stored but little Gujarat hilsa, because most of the Gujarat fish were full of roe, which is not much liked in Kolkata's markets. "New consignments are due, so I don't expect any big shortage during the Puja," he said.

Myanmar hilsa has been stored, but a large part of that stock has already gone to market, which is keeping prices firm.

Amar Das, a trader at Kolkata's Lake Market, said hilsa of 700 to 800 grams are now harder to find than before. Stored hilsa of 800 to 900 grams sell for Rs 1,100 to 1,200, a 1.1 kg fish costs about Rs 1,600, and a one-and-a-half-kilogram fish about Rs 1,800.

Fresh hilsa of one and a half kilograms have reached Rs 2,200 to 2,500, while fresh hilsa of one kilogram or more sell for about Rs 2,500 a kg.

Syed Anwar Maqsood, secretary of the Fish Importers' Association of West Bengal, said the supply of fresh hilsa has fallen, but stored hilsa and Gujarat hilsa are available.

Demand for hilsa is now at its peak around Ranna Puja, and with large fresh hilsa in short supply, prices are unlikely to fall.

Traders expect hilsa prices in Kolkata to stay high until Ranna Puja. If enough new hilsa does not reach the market, the shortage of large fresh fish may continue. The report drew on the Times of India.

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