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Bangladesh has decided to lift the much-talked-about ban on hilsa fish ahead of the Durga Pujas. Bangladesh's interim government announced on Saturday that it will export 3,000 tonnes of hilsa fish to India ahead of Durga Puja, scheduled for October 9 to 13. Earlier this month, the Bangladesh government imposed a ban on hilsa exports to India to prioritize domestic demand, thereby halting a long-standing tradition of sending hilsa to India as a "goodwill gesture."
“Against the backdrop of appeals by the exporters, approval has been given to export 3,000 tonnes of hilsa fish (to India), fulfilling the specific conditions on the occasion of the upcoming Durga Puja,” the Commerce Ministry said in a statement. The Ministry asked applicants to contact its relevant wing to obtain export permission.
Last year, Bangladesh sent a 4,000-tonne consignment of Padma hilsa, ahead of Durga Puja last year. Bangladesh’s former government, led by ex-prime minister Sheikh Hasina, allowed the export of hilsa fish to India during the August-October period as a gesture of goodwill gesture, a tradition that had been nurtured for years.
Earlier this month, India's Fish Importers Association appealed to Bangladesh's Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid Hossain to permit hilsa exports during Durga Puja, amidst concerns over potential disruptions due to recent unrest and the change in government.
The Association secretary Syed Anwar Maqsood said in a letter that while Bangladesh imposed a ban on hilsa export in 2012, it has been allowing its export in a limited quantity from the first week of September until the end of the Durga Puja festival as a goodwill gesture for the last five years.
The export ban was aimed at controlling domestic prices and ensuring hilsa remained accessible to lower-income households in Bangladesh. “We cannot allow ilish to be exported while our own people cannot buy them. This year, I have instructed the Ministry of Commerce to prevent any ilish exports to India during Durga Puja,” Farida Akhter, an adviser to the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock in Bangladesh, had said when the ban was imposed, earlier this September.
Bangladesh produces around 70% of the world's ilish and it is also the national fish of Bangladesh. Since 2012, Bangladesh has imposed a ban on ilish exports due to disputes over the Teesta River water-sharing agreement, but Sheikh Hasina facilitated the export, as the ban resulted in a significant rise in prices in Indian markets. However, the ban was lifted in 2022.
