Hilsa processing industry demanded in Bhola
Thursday, 16 October 2008
Our Correspondent
BHOLA, Oct 15: Despite huge harvests of hilsa fish, its preservation is being seriously hampered because of insufficient ice.
According to sources, there are about 25 ice factories in Bhola but due to recurrent load shedding or low voltage, ice production declined in the last two months. At the same time, there is abundant hilsa in the coastal areas of the Bay, specially in the Meghna.
There are about three thousand hilsa trading centres in the district with billions in investment. Also, there are 1,65,000 fishermen directly involved with the business.
Fishermen pile the hilsa at the business centres and after the first leg of the transactions are completed, the fish are mixed with ice, packed in large baskets and dispatched to other parts of the country including the capital city, Barisal, Chandpur and Khulna.
But insufficient supply of ice is disrupting transportation of the hilsa and poor fishermen are deprived of satisfactory price. This sudden fall in ice production came at a time when these poor fishermen are struggling to meet up the losses of the previous season.
"Because of its shortage, the price of ice is soaring which has forced us to preserve hilsa with salt," said a businessman.
In salt preservation, the hilsa are sliced up and salt is applied so the fish do not rot. The salted hilsa are sent elsewhere for sale to make up for the losses in business.
Besides, local business centres preserve a large amount of soused hilsa underground and preserve it for several months. Villagers preserve it in pots at home and use them at a later time.
A recent government report reveals that 48 out of 127 fish processing industries of international standard received license from the European Union. Also three laboratories have been set up in Dhaka, Chittagong and Khulna to control the quality of exportable fish.
Regretfully however, no plan or proposal has yet been taken to set up a cold storage in Bhola, let alone quality control fish laboratory or processing industry.
BHOLA, Oct 15: Despite huge harvests of hilsa fish, its preservation is being seriously hampered because of insufficient ice.
According to sources, there are about 25 ice factories in Bhola but due to recurrent load shedding or low voltage, ice production declined in the last two months. At the same time, there is abundant hilsa in the coastal areas of the Bay, specially in the Meghna.
There are about three thousand hilsa trading centres in the district with billions in investment. Also, there are 1,65,000 fishermen directly involved with the business.
Fishermen pile the hilsa at the business centres and after the first leg of the transactions are completed, the fish are mixed with ice, packed in large baskets and dispatched to other parts of the country including the capital city, Barisal, Chandpur and Khulna.
But insufficient supply of ice is disrupting transportation of the hilsa and poor fishermen are deprived of satisfactory price. This sudden fall in ice production came at a time when these poor fishermen are struggling to meet up the losses of the previous season.
"Because of its shortage, the price of ice is soaring which has forced us to preserve hilsa with salt," said a businessman.
In salt preservation, the hilsa are sliced up and salt is applied so the fish do not rot. The salted hilsa are sent elsewhere for sale to make up for the losses in business.
Besides, local business centres preserve a large amount of soused hilsa underground and preserve it for several months. Villagers preserve it in pots at home and use them at a later time.
A recent government report reveals that 48 out of 127 fish processing industries of international standard received license from the European Union. Also three laboratories have been set up in Dhaka, Chittagong and Khulna to control the quality of exportable fish.
Regretfully however, no plan or proposal has yet been taken to set up a cold storage in Bhola, let alone quality control fish laboratory or processing industry.