Ban on hilsha export may encourage smuggling

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BARISAL, July 07 (UNB): Hilsha exporters of the region apprehended that they, as well as the importers, would have to count a whopping loss following the ban on export of the fish for next six months.
"Both the local exporters and the foreign importers will incur heavy losses if the fish could not be exported as per agreement in letters of credit (L/C) opened before the government order came," said Barisal fish exporters' association secretary M Yusuf Sikder.
He also feared that the exporters might face litigation from the foreign importers if the terms of the L/Cs were breached.
Besides, the local exporters also apprehended that the export halt could give a spurt to the smuggling of Hilsha abroad.
"As such, the country is going to lose a sizable amount of foreign currency that comes through the export of Hilsha during this peak period of the season," said Yusuf.
However, the commoners who used to look on while the delicious national fish was being traded abroad, as it was beyond their reach for price spirals, are happy thinking that they might now relish the fish for its price fall.
Hilsha prices started taking a downturn in the local markets of the city since Thursday soon after the government-ordered ban took effect on the day.
An inter-ministerial meeting at the Fisheries and Livestock Ministry on Wednesday decided to impose a ban on hilsha export to ensure reasonable price of the covetous fish on the local market for the interest of the middle-class people.
While visiting local wholesale and retail fish markets in the city--the catch-point for the fish coming from coastal areas-it was found Hilsha being sold at 15-20 per cent reduced rates than last week's market prices.
The government action came in the wake of widespread criticism that people were being deprived of taking a taste of the fish for skyrocketing prices.
As the government put the brake, scores of India-bound Hilsha-laden trucks from Barisal were sent back by the customs from Benapole land port Thursday.
The exporters, later, preserved the returned Hilsha in cold storage of Khulna and Jessore though the government also has prohibited storing the fish during the same period through gazette notification.
The decision created mixed reactions among the consumers and merchants as a number of socioeconomic organisations hailed the government step.
The Barisal fish exporters' association secretary, Sikder, said the measure would be hardly effective in reducing the price for certain reasons. "The price of a standard-size Hilsha has gone high due to rise in fuel prices and transportation costs," he said.
"On an average, 40 tonnes of Hilsha had been exported to India per day through Benapole land port until the ban came. Twenty importing firms of West Bengal purchased Hilsha worth at least Tk 2.5 billion from Bangladesh last year," he said.