August 6, 2012

 

Bangladesh's Hilsa fish prices down after export ban imposition

 

 

Two days after the Bangladeshi authorities imposed an indefinite export ban on all kinds of white fish except shrimps, early this week to keep prices at an affordable level, Hilsa fish prices have started to fall in the kitchen markets.

 

Though imposed for an indefinite period, the export ban clamped on Tuesday (July 31) is likely to be withdrawn after Ramadan, officials of the ministry of commerce said.

 

The ban has apparently annoyed fish lovers on the other side of the border, mainly in Paschimbanga, where political observers fear a diplomatic face-off with Bangladesh for suspension of Hilsa supply.

 

Following a suggestion of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), the government banned exports of all kinds of white fish, except shrimps, indefinitely to keep prices at acceptable levels at the home market.

 

A piece of a middle-size (less than a kilogramme) Hilsa which was generally sold at BDT900 (US$11) before the ban, was available at around BDT600 (US$7.35) to BDT700 (US$8.6) Thursday (Aug 2). According to the Department of Fisheries, the price of Hilsa weighing over one kilogramme that sold in the retail market at BDT500-600 (US$6.13-7.35) in Ramadan last year was selling at BDT1,600-1,700 (US$19.6-20.8) in Ramadan this year.

 

"The prices are likely to come down further if supplies improve following report of higher catches of Hilsas in the Bay of Bengal and the Meghna river," a fish vendor at the Malibag kitchen market said.

 

After weeks of barren trips, local fishing companies have started netting good quantities of Hilsa fish over the past week. It is expected that more Hilsas will be netted in the current monsoon, sources said. The FBCCI pleaded for the ban especially during the fasting month of Ramadan to give some relief to the people most of whom often cannot afford to buy costly delicious foods. It's a general trend to have some delicious foods in the evening and at dawn after and before the daylong fast, according to dieticians.

 

The country produces some 350,000 tonnes of Hilsa fish annually, and most of the catch ends in exports to some 12 countries including India's Paschimbanga. The production of Hilsa is likely to increase as the country's fishing sector is poised to expand its capability in the Bay of Bengal after it was awarded sovereignty over its exclusive economic zone in the Bay this year by an international court through settling a maritime boundary dispute with Myanmar.

 

According to marine fisheries experts, Bangladesh will need to expand and modernise its fleet of fishing trawlers for catching fish in the deep sea as the conventional mechanised fishing boats lack equipment and other logistic support to fish deeper into the sea.

 

Bangladesh has some 130 (well equipped) deep-sea fishing trawlers, 22,000 mechanised fishing boats (called trawlers), and 25,000 non-mechanised fishing boats, according to the Department of Fisheries. But fishing boat operators disagree with the figures given by the fisheries department saying, there are some 30,000 mechanised boats and 60,000 non-mechanised fishing boats.

 

"Hilsa and chingri that popularly define the culinary and cultural divide between natives of Bangladesh (Bangal) and West Bengal (Ghoti) may trigger a diplomatic face-off, with the Bangladesh government imposing a ban on export of Hilsa," Times of India said Thursday (Aug 2).

 

According to the Department of Fisheries, Paschimbaga imports some 5,500 tonnes of Hilsa from Bangladesh annually through proper channel. However India also gets huge Hilsa supply from Bangladesh through illegal channels.

 

"Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is also known to be partial to her shorshe-bata ilish and had lobbied the Prime Minister last year for more Hilsa import," said Times of India.

 

In Kolkata, Hilsa sells at BDT1,600-2,000 (US$19.6-24.5) per kilogramme (for fish weighing more than a kilogramme). It is expected to get more expensive because of the ban, driving Hilsa out of the menu in most households, the newspaper said. Bangladesh exported fish and fish products worth over BDT47 billion (US$576 million) in the last fiscal year (FY) to June 2012, officials at the Department of Fisheries said.

 

They said the export volume of fish has dropped to some 92,480 tonnes in FY 2012 from about 96,470 tonnes in previous fiscal but earning increased by nearly BDT1.0 billion (US$12.2 million) during the period. The country produced a record 3.22 million tonnes of fish in the FY 2012, which is some 5.2% higher than that of FY 2011. It is expected that the production is likely to cross 4.50 million tonnes mark by FY 2021.