A consignment of 2,000 kgs of ilish reached Tripura from Bangladesh through the Agartala integrated check post (ICP) on Friday, reports The Times of India.
This is the first consignment of the fish - highly demanded by Indians - sent after a ban on ilish export was lifted by Bangladesh after 10 years.
Since 2011, Tripura had received ilish but the quantity and quality were not satisfactory.
Fish merchants of Tripura had planned to import on Tuesday but the exporters in Bangladesh commenced supply on Friday after being certified of quality by the Bangladeshi authorities.
Tripura's Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma said that Bangladesh has given the people of Tripura the best gift before Durga Puja by lifting the export ban and allowing despatch of export quality ilish, reports The Times of India.
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He added that ilish prices will drop once a few more consignments reach the Tripura markets. His hope was echoed by importers too.
Customs Superintendent of Agartala ICP Joydeep Mukherjee mentioned that the 2,000 kg batch was imported to observe the public response.
Importer Khokon Bhowmik also told The Times of India that said for a long time there was a ban on importing ilish directly from Bangladesh to Tripura.
As a result, most of the fish came from Kolkata and the price was naturally high and supply low, he said. But now, the Bangladesh government has lifted the ban on ilish imports through the Akhaura check post to Tripura.
He added that they plan to import the fish in bulk from next week if the demand is high.
