Hilsa output to exceed 0.5m tonnes last fiscal

Fisheries and Livestock Minister Narayan Chandra Chanda on Monday expected the Hisha production to exceed 0.5 million tonnes (MT) in the last financial year (2017-18), reports UNB.

The contribution of Hilsa in country's total fish production is 12 per cent and its contribution to GDP is more than one per cent, said the minister while talking to reporters at his office.

Hilsa production was 0.29 million tonnes in fiscal 2008-09. The country's Hilsa output has increased by 66 per cent in the last nine years, said the minister adding that the production is expected to exceed 0.5 million tonnes once final statistics is made available for 2017-18 fiscal.

Market value of target production will be around Tk 180.0 billion, said the minister.

He said that Bangladesh is now holding the first position in Hilsha production. Around 70-75 per cent Hilsas are being produced in Bangladesh. With this Hilsa output, the total fish production has been reached to 4.13 million tonnes from 2.70 tonnes in nine years ago.

This fiscal's total fish production will reach 4.27 tonnes, expected the minister.

He said, 39,788 tonnes of rice was given to 2,48,674 fishermen families in 2017-18 under social safety net programmes.