Published :
Updated :
For all latest news, follow The Financial Express Google News channel.
The prices of hilsa have shot up again beyond reach of the low-income groups amid the start of its exports and an announcement of a fishing ban from October 12 next, traders said.
The prices increased further by Tk 150-300 a kg in the major city markets on Sunday as small sized ones were selling at Tk 850-1,100, medium Tk 1,400-1,800 and bigger ones Tk 1,850-2,450 a kg.
The government last week permitted 79 traders to export 3,950 tonnes of the fish to West Bengal of India as a friendly gesture ahead of the upcoming Durga Puja.
Meanwhile, a three-week long ban on all kinds of fishing in the bay and rivers will start from October 12 under the government's hilsa conservation programme, according to the Department of Fisheries.
The government imposed a ban on catching, procurement, marketing, buying, selling, transportation, stocking and exchange of hilsa during the period to conserve mother hilsa.
Lokman Hossain, a fish vendor at Dhanmondi 15, said prices of hilsa showed a slight decline since early this month (September), but went up again in the wholesale in the last three days.
He said a fish weighing 450-600 gram is being traded at Tk 30,000-32,000 a maund (40 kg) at Mawa wholesale as compared to maximum Tk 24,000 a week ago.
The medium and big ones were being traded at Tk 40,000-70,000 per maund depending on the size and quality, marking a 20-25 per cent hike in seven days.
Azibor Rahman Mridha, a fish wholesaler at Jatrabari in the city, said hilsa collection was considerably low in June-August period of this year amid less rain.
He said that catching hilsa has just started increasing this month, but the starting of exports pushed up the prices of medium and big-sized fish in the mokams (hubs) at Chandpur, Bhola, Patuakhali, Barishal and Cox's Bazar.
He said many traders have also started preserving the fish following the announcement of the fishing ban.
The prices of other riverine fishes also increased by Tk 100-150 a kg in a week due to the hilsa price hike and fishing ban, he added. Mr Mridha said that though the export quantity seems tiny, it could meet the demand for a whole week of the country during this outgoing peak month.
Meanwhile, Indian media channel ABP News in its online handle reported that nine trucks carrying 45 tonnes of hilsa entered West Bengal through the Petrapole border on September 22.
Customs clearing agent Firoj Mandal said that a total of 40-45 metric tonnes of hilsa crossed the border from Bangladesh on the day. The fish will reach various markets like Kolkata, Siliguri and Murshidabad, he added.
Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) secretary Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan said the traders are raising prices at a time when collection of hilsa has been increasing. He said hilsa is now too costly for the low-income people to buy.
He recommended the ministries of commerce and fisheries and livestock to conduct drives in the mokams to bring hilsa prices within the reach of commoners.
The country collects 0.4 million tonnes of hilsa annually from the Bay of Bengal and the rivers that constitute only 9.0-10 per cent of the country's total fish production, according to the DoF.