With Bangladesh PM in Delhi, Hilsa arrives in Kolkata’s markets

Bangladesh has given permission to export 2,450 metric tonnes of the fish to India ahead of the Durga Puja festival

 Coinciding with the visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in New Delhi, the first consignment of Hilsa fish arrived in the markets of Kolkata on Tuesday. “We have received this year’s first consignment of about 8.5 metric tonnes of Hilsa from Bangladesh today,” Syed Anwar Massod, secretary of West Bengal Fish Importers Association, said.

 Mr. Masood told The Hindu that this year Bangladesh has given permission to export 2,450 metric tonnes of the fish ahead of the Durga Puja festival. Bangladesh had imposed a ban on import of Hilsa to India in 2012, but since 2019 has allowed relaxations to import of the Hilsa, particularly in the festival season.

Diplomacy over Hilsa, Bengal’s favourite fish has played out on several occasions. Only a few months ago, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee had asked visiting Bangladesh’s Minister of Commerce, Tipu Munshi, to request Sheikh Hasina to send Hilsa to India during the festival season.

From her first gift of Hilsa was to Chief Minister Jyoti Basu in 1996 before the signing of the Ganga water sharing treaty between India and Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Prime Minister has often extended the gift of Hilsa to different leaders from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to former President Pranab Mukherjee. Officials and politicians from Bangladesh do not shy away from saying that the neighbouring country is willing to lift the ban on the import of the silver fish provided the Government of India goes ahead with Teesta water sharing agreement.

 According to the Fish Importers Association in September 2021, the Bangladesh government gave permission to export around ₹4,600 metric tons of Hilsa Fish, the highest since 2019, when the ban was eased out. However due to paucity of time only ₹1,200 MT could be exported from Bangladesh to India.

In a letter addressed to the Deputy High Commissioner of Bangladesh, Janab Andalib Elias the secretary of Fish Importers Association had requested to “please give sufficient time frame of at least 45 days instead of the usual 20/30 days time for completing export. We would also like to point out that if you allow such quantities like 4,600 MT then such huge quantities cannot be completed in a month or two. Ideally permission of 2,000 MT is more than enough to export in such a short duration of time,” the letter dated August 12 had said.

  The association, while urging for lifting the ban on import of Hilsa Fish from Bangladesh, said that prior to 2012, just about 5,000 MT of the fish was exported to India. The Hilsa fish which is imported from Bangladesh is usually between 700 grams to 1,200 grams and the price varies from ₹800 to ₹1,200 per kg.