The Bengali New Year is knocking at the door, and hilsa has a special place at the New Year, so demand peaks. The New Year is still about two weeks away, but hilsa prices in Rajshahi have already risen, jumping suddenly by Tk 300-400 a kg.

Sellers say prices have gone up at the wholesale market, so they have to sell at higher prices. But sales are also down.

A visit on Wednesday, 1 April, to Shaheb Bazar, New Market, Court Bazar and other markets in the city found hilsa prices up by as much as Tk 300-400 a kg from a few days earlier. Small hilsa weighing 400 grams sold for Tk 1,100-1,200 a week ago and are now selling at Tk 1,400-1,600 a kg. Slightly larger 600-gram fish have risen to Tk 1,800-2,000, and large hilsa are selling at Tk 2,200-2,600 a kg.

Buyers say hilsa is slipping out of their reach. Many who come to buy it to keep up tradition go home disappointed by the high prices.

A buyer named Haidar Rahman told Jagonews: "Fish prices are rising every day. Sellers are charging whatever they can get from each customer. It is very hard to buy hilsa from them. Ordinary people cannot buy hilsa. I am going home without buying any myself."

Liton Ali, a buyer at Shaheb Bazar, said: "While other fish prices are more or less normal, hilsa prices have gone up a lot. The ones that used to sell at Tk 1,000 are now selling at Tk 1,400 a kg. Demand rises whenever Pahela Baishakh comes, so prices rise too. But they never rose this much before."

Nirob Ali, a seller at the same market, said: "Hilsa of 400-500 grams are selling at Tk 1,400-1,500. Big fish cost Tk 1,600 or more. I cannot say for sure whether prices will rise further before Baishakh, but they are rising every day. Because of the higher prices, fish sales have also fallen."

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