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The Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission has recommended setting the maximum retail price for hilsa based on size in the face of an unusual increase.
In a report on Sunday, it also identified 11 key reasons behind the sharp price hike - imbalance between supply and demand, hoarding and syndicates, rising fuel and transport costs, higher fishing expenses, navigability crises and environmental issues, use of illegal nets, receiving money in advance (dadni system), lack of alternative employment, fishing during bans, dominance of middlemen, and export pressure.
The report said hilsa prices climbed to as high as Tk 2,200 per kg in September.
That month, local retail prices ranged between Tk 900 and Tk 2,200 per kg, while the average price while exporting to India stood at Tk 1,534 per kg.
According to the commission, if traders can profitably export hilsa at the current international rates, local market prices are yielding disproportionately high profits compared with the cost of catching the fish.
Bangladesh produces an average of 0.55 million tonnes of hilsa annually.
The commission urged the government to introduce price controls to stabilise the market and ensure consumer access to the country's most popular fish.
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