Forget hilsa, it's mackerel jhol

KOLKATA: Hilsa and chingri that popularly define the culinary and cultural divide between natives of Bangladesh (Bangal) and West Bengal (Ghoti) may trigger a diplomatic face-off, with the Bangladesh government imposing a ban on export of hilsa.
Though the ban is on all marine products except prawn, it is hilsa that is causing the heartburn as fish lovers in Kolkata and the rest of Bengal have been banking on Padmar ilish this year following an extremely poor catch in the state.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee is also known to be partial to her shorshe-bata ilish and had lobbied the Prime Minister last year for more hilsa import.
Two Bangladeshi MPs had recently remarked on the need for greater exchange of people, culture and hilsa dishes during a hilsa conference in the city. Md Mokbul Hossain and Zafar Iqbal Siddique, members of a parliamentary standing committee in Bangladesh, had even suggested more hilsa export to Bengal.
However, the Sheikh Hasina government did a U-turn on Tuesday and issued a notification banning trans-border trade of all fish varieties. Though shrimp trade will be allowed, it is unlikely to be imported as Bengal has a bumper shrimp harvest this year.
According to the notification, the ban on fish export will be in effect during Ramzan. "The idea is that people in Bangladesh should be able to have more fish, especially hilsa, during this period of fasting," said Md Endad Hussain, vice-president of Export-Import Association, Bangladesh.
A Bangladeshi government official said the price of hilsa weighing over 1kg that sold in the retail market for 500-600 Bangladeshi taka (Rs 350-400) per kg last Ramzan had shot up to 1,600-1,700 taka (Rs 1,120-1,170) this year, necessitating the ban.
Dhaka-based Shahad Mahabub Chowdhury, dialogue coordinator of Ecosystems for Life, a Bangladesh-India initiative that hosted the conference on hilsa, while admitting that prices had pushed hilsa beyond the reach of average Bangladeshis, felt it was ill-timed as prices were dropping following a sharp rise in catch in the past four days.
"For a while, Hilsa catch was down 50% against last year. But it has improved significantly since Saturday after abundant rains. The price has already started declining and should touch 1,000 taka a kg soon. I believe the ban is temporary and will be lifted after Eid," said Chowdhury.
The notification, issued by Md Jehsan Islam, deputy secretary in the Bangladesh commerce ministry, gives no such assurance. "The ban will be in force until further orders," it states.
The last supply of hilsa from Bangladesh - 60 tonnes that reached on Tuesday - may be exhausted by Thursday. Fish exporters in Bangladesh, too, are in a quandary. Hussain said nearly 90 tonnes of hilsa that was ready for export to Bengal has to be diverted to local market now and sold at a cheaper price.
Syed Anwar Maqsood, secretary of Fish Importers' Association in Kolkata, said a consignment of 80-90 tonnes of hilsa was due to arrive from Bangladesh on Wednesday but was held up following the sudden notification.
Last year, export of hilsa had eased out after Mamata Banerjee urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to lobby for more liberal hilsa exports to Bengal during his Dhaka visit. Though the chief minister has not reacted to the ban yet, sources said she would take up the matter after Eid if curbs persist.
Hilsa catch in Bengal has nosedived from 60,000 tonnes in 2010-11 to 18,000 tonnes in 2011-12. This year, the catch has dropped further and may not even reach 8,000 tonnes, say sources. Bangladesh, on the other hand, recorded a catch of 2.6 million tonnes last fiscal and is expected to net 3 million tonnes this fiscal.
In Kolkata, hilsa sells for Rs 1,000-1,200 per kg (for fish weighing more than a kilo). It is expected to get more expensive because of the ban, driving hilsa out of the menu in most households. But fisheries minister Abu Hena didn't seem too perturbed. He had 'heard' about the ban but wasn't sure why it had been imposed.