August 2, 2012

 

Bangladesh imposes restriction on white fish export

 

 

A ban on the export of all kinds of white fish including Hilsa has been imposed by Bangladesh.

 

"Ban on export of white fish including Hilsa, a national fish popular for its tasty flesh, will remain in force until further notice," said MA Sabur, chief controller of Imports and Exports.

 

He said the Office of Chief Controller of Imports and Exports under the Ministry of Commerce issued a notice slapping ban on export of all kinds of white fish including Hilsa on Tuesday (July 31) night to rein in prices in the local market during the Muslims holy month of Ramadan.

 

"The ban will not be applicable for export of shrimps," he added.

 

The demand gets louder for a fish export ban as poor netting of Hilsa in Bangladesh's coastal waters has led the price to rise sharply.

 

Prices skyrocketed due to the scarcity of Hilsa in the local market, making it out of reach for common folk. Hilsa was selling at BDT650-1,000 (US$7.97-12.26) per kilogramme in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka, up 50% from a year ago. The association of Bangladesh's exporters, however, expressed their resentment over the government's fish export ban, saying it would cut the country's export revenues.

 

Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association (BFFEA) in a letter to the Ministry of Commerce has urged the government to exempt the exporters who have already received export order from foreign buyers from the ban.

 

According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Hilsa is exported to a lot of countries in Asia and Europe where the silvery monsoon catch is diners' favourites. The EPB data showed Bangladesh earned US$598.42 million from export of frozen foods in the 2011-12 fiscal year ( July 2011-June 2012) including US$471.67 million from shrimp exports.

 

Export revenues are unlikely to suffer a big blow as the ban excludes shrimps, said an official of the Ministry of Commerce. He said the government may lift the ban if prices of Hilsa come down in the local market.

 

Hilsa fish usually migrate to Bangladeshi rivers from the Bay of Bengal between June and September. According to the fisheries department, Hilsa accounts for about 12% of the country's annual fish production and about 450,000 fishermen depend on Hilsa, which usually grow to four kilogrammes each.

 

The government has banned fishermen from catching Hilsa for about two weeks in October during breeding period as indiscriminate catching of eggs bearing mother fish during peak season to some extent caused fall in production of Hilsa over the past years.