Bangladesh to export record amount of hilsa to India this season

Bangladesh will export a record of 2,080 tonnes of hilsa fish, a quintessential favourite to the Bengali, to India, on the eve of Durga Puja, the largest festival for the Hindu community.

This year’s export is four times higher than the shipment sent in 2019 and 33 percent more than last year, according to commerce ministry data.

“My home district is in Khulna from where we see hilsa usually gets smuggled. By allowing export, smuggling of the fish ahead of Durga Puja will be stopped,” Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh told the Business Insider Bangladesh on Monday.

It is a good gesture from Bangladesh to India on the occasion of Duga Puja, which will begin on October 7, 2021, he said. Bangladesh is not giving it free of cost, the exporters will earn foreign currencies, he noted.

According to a commerce ministry document, some 52 enterprises have been allowed to export hilsa this year. Each enterprise can export a maximum of 40 tonnes.

This export permission will remain valid until October 10, but if the government imposes any embargo on collection and transportation of the fishes, the export will abruptly stop.

The commerce ministry said this export permission is in no way transferable to any third party.

Bangladeshi hilsa is a delicacy to most of the people of Kolkata and other parts of West Bengal. The hilsa of the Padma River (Paddar ilish) is considered as the tastiest fish by many consumers, who are even ready to spend more on it.

Bangladesh accounts for around three-fourth of the world's hilsa production.