By Sutanuka Ghosal
Copyright indiatimes
TIL CreativesRepresentational
Nearly 50 tonnes of Hilsa from Bangladesh will be available in the markets across the country from tomorrow which will bring much cheer to the connoisseurs of the fish that is considered as a gastronomic delight.Syed Anwar Maqsood, secretary of the Fish Importers’ Association “10 trucks each containing 5 tonnes of Hilsa have reached the Petrapole border and will enter India tonight. The fish will first arrive at Kolkata and then from there it will be distributed across the country.” Fish traders said that the fish will be priced anywhere between Rs 1,800 – Rs 2,000 per kg at the retail end.Bangladesh has allowed exports of 1,200 tonnes of Hilsa to India, which is half of the quantity that it had permitted in 2024. The Bangla government has fixed the minimum price of Hilsa exports at Rs 1,100 per kg ($12.5/kg).Commenting on the lesser quantity of hilsa being exported this year from Bangladesh, Maqsood said “Bangladesh’s own Hilsa landing has not been good this year. That is why the volume is less.” Last year, even though the Bangla government had allowed 2420 tonnes of Hilsa export, only 577 tonnes of hilsa could enter into India as the time period of a month was not enough to import the entire volume.”This year too, we do not feel that the entire volume will be exported to India,” he said.Live EventsSince 2012 Bangladesh has not been exporting hilsa so that their own demand is met and small-sized hilsa are not caught and sold in the market. But ahead of the festive season in India, Sheikh Hasina’s government would send hilsa to India as a “gift”. The hilsa would enter West Bengal from Bangladesh through the Petrapole border via Bongaon and then would be supplied to different parts of the country, where hilsa has a demand.There was apprehension that the interim government in Bangladesh under Muhammad Yunus would not export Hilsa to India. But that did not happen and the neighbouring country had exported Hilsa last year too. Bangladeshi hilsa is considered a delicacy. ‘Padmar ilish’ (hilsa from river Padma in Bangladesh) is believed to be of superior quality in taste.Also, this year till date there has not been a good supply of Hilsa from West Bengal. In places like Delhi, where there is a demand for Hilsa fish, the fish traders are selling Hilsa fish from Gujarat’s Bharuch as Hilsa from Bengal, said a fish trader from Dwarka. Hilsa from Bharuch is fetching a price of Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,400 per kg in different markets across the country.Hilsa is a deep marine fish but moves towards the estuary in search of ‘sweet water’ to lay eggs. As the hilsa loves sweet water, heavy rainfall in its breeding sites helps produce better fish. When rainfall helps lower the salinity of the water, the hilsa tastes better. A heavy downpour does a world of good to the quality of the fish.Unfortunately, markets across Kolkata have been flooded with juvenile hilsa weighing between 200-400 gm caught from Bay of Bengal. The rampant fishing of juvenile hilsa is causing severe damage to the hilsa ecosystem in the Ganges estuary. Out of sheer greed, fishermen use fine mesh nets to catch even the smallest fish. This unsustainable practice is pushing the hilsa population to spawn in Bangladesh, where catching juvenile hilsa is a punishable offence. The estuaries and connected river systems that flow into the Bay of Bengal contribute 90 per cent of the hilsa catch in the country.Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now!
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