Despite PM Narendra Modi, Mamata Banerjee visit, Bangla export ban continues driving Hilsa prices to Rs 1,000/kg

KOLKATA: The Teesta river watersharing discord between India and Bangladesh has claimed its first victim – the hilsa, with the import of the fish from Bangladesh looking increasingly remote. Despite the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to Bangladesh to sort out the water sharing and other issues, Bangladesh’s export ban on hilsa continues with prices of the fish soaring to Rs 1,000-Rs 1,200 per kg in local markets.

“It’s now clear to us that the entry of hilsa from Bangladesh hinges on the Teesta issue. Unless the deal is clinched, it will be difficult for India to get hilsa from Bangladesh. We have written to the PM to take up the issue and we have received a communication from the PMO that our letter has been forwarded to the Union commerce ministry. ,” said Syed Anwar Maqsood, secretary, West Bengal Fish Importers’ Association.

The export ban has been in force since 2012, when Bangladesh realised that the ban on the fish would ensure enough supply in the domestic market which would keep prices under check. Incidentally, Bangladesh is also facing a decline in hilsa catch and has kept its borders closed for the fish, while allowing export of other variants. Before the ban, over 6,000 tonnes of hilsa was imported from Bangladesh. Currently, importers get a much inferior and frozen variety from Myanmar. India imports around 800 tonnes of hilsa from Myanmar annually.

Hilsa has always carried an emotional appeal between Kolkata and Dhaka. In 1996, for instance, Sheikh Hasina had sent hilsa to former chief minister Jyoti Basu before the Ganges water sharing agreement with Bangladesh was signed. A senior scientist of Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute said that hilsa production in Bengal may be less this year due to inadequate rainfall.