The price of hilsa in Moulvibazar has fallen by Tk 700 to 800 a kilogram within a week. The drop has brought some relief to shoppers, but with supply short of demand even in the peak season, the fish remains beyond the reach of ordinary people.

On Tuesday, 15 September, the hilsa stalls in the fish market were crowded and many people were haggling; most of them said the price needs to come down further.

Fish trader Jibon Mia said a one-kilogram hilsa now sells for Tk 2,000 a kilo, against about Tk 2,800 a week earlier. Fish of 400 to 500 grams has dropped from Tk 1,800 to about Tk 1,000 a kilo, and small 300-gram hilsa sells for about Tk 600.

Shopper Golam Hossain said the price has eased a little but ought to be no more than Tk 1,000 a kilo if ordinary people are to eat hilsa at all. Prices did not fall even at the height of the season this year, he said, and at the tail end large fish still sell for Tk 2,500 to 3,000 a kilo. Nazrul Islam, a local teacher, had to pay Tk 2,600 for four medium hilsa because guests were coming; another shopper, Mojibur Rahman, gave up and went home with a rui instead.

Wholesalers said that with supply tight, the price of a maund of hilsa at the landing centres has risen by as much as Tk 10,000 in a week. District Fisheries Officer Arif Hossain said prices are high because supply is short of very strong demand — the unwritten rule of the market.

Hilsa reaches this inland district through the wholesale yards, so a fall at the landing ghats arrives here days later and only in part. That a kilo still costs Tk 2,000 after an Tk 800 drop shows how tight supply remains even as the season winds down.

Source: banglanews24