Bangladesh Crisis Disrupts Howrah Fish Market, Sales Decline

Bangladesh crisis: The ongoing violence and protests in Bangladesh have severely impacted sales at West Bengal’s Howrah fish market, with significant declines in fish imports leading to substantial losses for traders in Kolkata. According to a report by news agency ANI on Thursday, the quantity of fish arriving from Bangladesh has plummeted, causing daily financial losses amounting to crores of rupees. The import and export of fish have been halted over the past four to five days, affecting the supply of popular varieties, including the highly sought-after Hilsa.

Syed Anwar Maqsood, secretary of the Fish Importer’s Association, highlighted the impact of the turmoil. “We are in the business of exporting and importing fish from Bangladesh. For the last month, ever since the protests started, the market has been affected. Our export and import of fish have taken a hit,” he told ANI.

Previously, about 100 to 110 metric tonnes of various fish were exchanged daily between India and Bangladesh. However, this volume has drastically reduced, resulting in daily losses amounting to lakhs of rupees. Maqsood noted, “On the occasion of Durga Puja, Bangladesh used to give us special permission for Hilsa fish for one month every year. Now, due to the situation in Bangladesh, it seems unlikely that Hilsa fish will be available.”

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Hilsa, known for its distinctive taste and sourced from the Padma River in Bangladesh, is a favourite among Bengalis and is distributed widely across India and internationally. The disruption in supply is expected to result in potential losses running into crores, with around 200 metric tonnes of fish affected.

The association remains hopeful that conditions will improve in the coming weeks. Discussions are ongoing with counterparts in Bangladesh, though challenges remain, particularly concerning payment issues. “We expect the situation to normalise within the next few weeks. We are in continuous dialogue with our counterparts in Bangladesh, but the situation remains unstable. Our payments are delayed, and the overall business outlook is uncertain,” Maqsood said.

He also urged the Indian government to consider the situation in Bangladesh and work towards forming a good relationship with the new government there. “This is our request to the Government of India that Bangladesh is our neighbouring country, and India should form a good relationship with the new government that comes there so that the business can run well,” he added.