The price of hilsa, the national fish, has fallen in Mymensingh's markets, but there are no buyers. Sellers who sit all day without the customers they hoped for are disheartened.

On a visit to Mechhua Bazar in the Ganginarpar area of Mymensingh town on the morning of 21 January, sellers were sitting with hilsa alongside other fish. Their calls drew little response; shoppers were looking at the cheaper fish.

Sellers said the supply of hilsa at the wholesale market is not large, but demand in the market has fallen, so they are forced to sell on thin margins. Last week hilsa of 500-800 grams sold for Tk 900-1,000 a kg, and buyers were scarce even then. Now it sells for Tk 600-800 a kg, but there are even fewer buyers.

Seller Abdul Kadir told Jagonews24: "There is not much hilsa at the wholesale market, but many buyers have turned away from it. Even though the price has fallen, it still seems expensive to them. So when a buyer comes, we sell at a small profit."

Akramul Haque was bargaining over hilsa. He told Jagonews24: "I work at a private hospital in town and have to support my family. By the end of the month I have to borrow to get by, so I look for the cheapest fish. I came to buy hilsa and saw the price has come down a little because of the shortage of buyers. But even at this price it is hard for people on incomes like mine. So I will buy other fish and go home."

Another shopper, Abdul Hadi, said: "Hilsa sellers form the biggest syndicate. At any moment they can cut Tk 400-500 a kg. That makes it clear that they still profit even when selling cheaper."

After falling over the past few days, prices of other fish are now steady. Depending on size, tilapia sells for Tk 140-160 a kg, rui Tk 220-260, catla Tk 260-300, baush Tk 270-290, silver carp Tk 140-180, mrigel Tk 190-200, tengra up to Tk 300, pangas Tk 110-180, shol Tk 450-500, shing Tk 210-280, taki Tk 340-360, pabda Tk 40, mola Tk 380, rajputi Tk 160, local puti Tk 190, chanda Tk 270 and hilsa Tk 700-900.

Fish seller Sharaf Uddin said: "Fish prices go up and down regularly. For a few days prices have been at a tolerable level. We are happy that sales are brisk."

The vegetable market is calm too. Green chillies sell for Tk 25 a kg, cucumber Tk 30, aubergine Tk 20, beans Tk 15, sweet pumpkin Tk 15, bitter gourd Tk 40, peas Tk 70, tomatoes Tk 30, carrots Tk 40, radish Tk 15, yardlong beans Tk 50 and kochur loti Tk 30. Cabbage sells for Tk 20 a piece and cauliflower Tk 15, onion leaves Tk 10, green bananas Tk 20 and lemons Tk 15 a hali (four), and bottle gourd Tk 35-40 a piece. Large Holland potatoes sell for Tk 22 a kg and small local potatoes Tk 40.

Per kg, local onions sell for Tk 50, local garlic Tk 235, Chinese garlic Tk 200, Indian ginger Tk 100, khesari and sugar Tk 120, loose flour Tk 40 and packet flour Tk 50, butter dal Tk 122, local lentils Tk 125, coarse lentils Tk 110, mung dal Tk 165, split mashkalai Tk 85, mashkalai Tk 130 and chickpeas Tk 115. Bottled soybean oil sells for Tk 175 a litre, loose soybean oil Tk 187 and palm oil Tk 175.

Broiler chicken is down Tk 5 a kg to Tk 190. Sonali chicken sells for Tk 320, red cock Tk 320, white cock Tk 300 and layer Tk 350 a kg. Beef sells for Tk 750 a kg and mutton Tk 1,200.

Lutfar Rahman, who had bought a bagful of vegetables, said: "Vegetable prices are at a tolerable level, so people on low and middle incomes can shop with some peace of mind."

Abdus Salam, assistant director of the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection in Mymensingh, said: "We want everything to be sold at a fair price all year round. For that, our monitoring and regular drives in the market are continuing."

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