The commerce ministry is facing pressure from local hilsa traders to lift a ban on the export of the fish, official sources said.
Hilsa is as popular in the Indian state of West Bengal as it is in Bangladesh.
“Hilsa exporters continue to insist on the lifting of a ban order. We are under huge pressure from them,” a top official at the commerce ministry told the Dhaka Tribune earlier this week.
“But the ministry is yet to decide on the issue,” he said.
The official said although there is a ban order in effect, the hilsa are allegedly being smuggled to the neighbouring Indian state of West Bengal after a bumper catch this season.
President of Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporter’s Association (BFFEA) Kazi Shahnawaz told the Dhaka Tribune that they have sent several letters to the finance and commerce ministers and the secretary to withdraw the current ban on hilsa exports.
As supply becomes abundant, the hilsa price has dropped by 20-25% on the local market in the past few days compared to one month before, said Kazi Shahnawaz.
“Those enjoying benefit from the huge catch of hilsa presently are not the fishermen but the middlemen,” he said.
According to the BFFEA president, the export ban is forcing local fishermen to sell the fish to middlemen reduced prices.
This season, a huge amount of hilsa are being caught in the rivers of Barisal, Patuakhali and Bhola.
On July 31, 2012, the government imposed a ban on the export of hilsa to keep prices at a level affordable to everyone in the local market.
But there are allegations that the fish popular in both Bengals are entering West Bengal through illegal channels in huge numbers through maritime areas.
Recently, a Kolkata-based daily, Anandabazar Patrika, reported that hilsa fish smuggled from Bangladesh to India were hitting the markets in West Bengal.
The increased availability of hilsa in West Bengal also decreased its price on the Kolkata market.
Indian traders are collecting Bangladeshi hilsa from the river mouths or in the sea, the report said.
