DT e-Paper 14 April 2017

4 2017News
FRIDAY, APRIL 14,
DT
‘Sky-high demand, lack of monitoring fuel
Ilish price hike’
Md Abu Bakkar Siddiq, owner of the wholesale fish market in Jatrabari, Dhaka, speaks with the
Dhaka Tribune’s Asif Showkat Kallol about how the local Ilish business is suffering because of
the import of Ilish from Myanmar, and why Ilish prices skyrocket before Pohela Boishakh
Why does the price of Ilish fish
increase so much during the
last few weeks before Pohela
Boishakh?
That is because Ilish fish and panta
bhaat [soaked rice] has become the
staple of Pohela Boishakh celebration.
Ilish fish is widely popular because
of its distinctive taste – even
children like it. In recent years,
Ilish has become a must-have in
every household in Bangladesh –
be it rich, middle-class or poor – on
Pohela Boishakh. This excessive
demand is causing the price hike.
However, Ilish is traditionally
not a part of Pohela Boishakh cuisine.
I remember that when I was
child, the demand for Ilish was not
as extreme as we see today.
But how is it that the price is going
out of control every year?
Lack of monitoring on the government’s
part is a major reason. We
[local Ilish traders] have requested
the government agencies to monitor
the retail markets, because
there is a huge price gap between
the wholesale markets and the retail
markets. There are instances
of retailers increasing the price of
Ilish manifold simply based on a
rumour or a news of a big sale.
But prices are high in the wholesale
market too.
You will find that a medium-sized
Ilish fish costs around
Tk600 in the retail market, but the
same fish costs Tk300-400 in the
wholesale market. The retail price
is supposed to include the transport
and rental costs only. But it
turns out to be almost double the
amount of what it should be.
Why is no legal action being taken
to stop this trend?
Political influence and lack of coordination
among government agencies
are the main reasons. There
is a law that says the difference of
wholesale price and retail price
should not exceed 10%. But that
law is not implemented.
What is the Ministry of Fisheries
doing?
Nothing satisfactory in the last three
years. It has failed to bring modern
RAJIB DHAR
fishing technologies, as well as properly
manage the fishing industry.
What are the other problems in the
local Ilish business?
The major problem right now is
import of Ilish from Myanmar. Myanmar
Ilish is simply not as good
in quality as Bangladeshi Ilish. But
they are cheaper in price. At least
300-400 tonnes of Myanmar’s socalled
Ilish fish are being imported
every day for the last three months.
Their Ilish is smaller in size and
does not taste as good as our Ilish
does. This is having a huge negative
impact on our local Ilish business.
How is importing Myanmar Ilish
affecting the local market?
First, despite the export ban on
Ilish in the country, the Myanmar
Ilish that is coming to Bangladesh
is somehow getting re-exported to
India, North America and Europe.
They are being exported as Bangladeshi
Ilish, which is destroying the
market of our local Ilish abroad.
The second problem is that, since
Myanmar Ilish is now available in
abundance in our markets and is
cheaper in price, our local
produce is not selling.
Ilish wholesalers are now
forced to conserve their
fish in cold storages. They
are facing huge losses.
Do you want a ban on Ilish
import from Myanmar?
Absolutely. The government
should ban importing
Ilish from Myanmar
as our local production is
enough. It will also save
our hard-earned foreign
currency.
What is the status of
local Ilish production?
It is quite good. We produce
nearly 800,000
tonnes of Ilish annually.
In 2016, we produced Ilish
worth Tk20,000 crore.
However, according to
government estimation,
we produce only 395,000
tonnes of Ilish.
The government authorities
do not have real
data on Ilish production,
consumption and demand,
which is another
reason why they are failing
to plan any market
intervention.
Has the ban on Ilish export had any
impact on production?
Yes, the income has gone down.
The ban was imposed during the
tenure of the last caretaker government
when the local market saw
an unprecedented price hike. But
their other initiatives to sustain the
local market were not implemented,
so in the end, the ban did not
bring the intended results.
If the government prohibited
Ilish import from Myanmar, local
Ilish would be sold more and generate
more income for both our
fishermen and Ilish traders.
Is our Ilish being smuggled to
India?
Not anymore. Smuggling was a huge
problem even last year. In most cases,
pirates in the coastal areas are involved
in smuggling Bangladeshi Ilish
to India. Last year, our fishermen
could go to fish in the Bay of Bengal
for two months due to the pirates’
activities. But the smuggling has reduced
due to our law enforcement
agencies’ efforts. They have been
conducting raids against pirates.
Has the fishermen’s lives improved
over the years?
Not significantly. Banglabandhu
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman established
a cooperative society for the
fishery sector in Chittagong in 1973.
But it has done little to improve the
lives of fishermen since then. However,
with the support of President
Abdul Hamid, the society is being
reorganised. Fishermen communities
are being brought under the
social safety net programme. They
are getting ID cards and compensation
for injuries or death. Around
350,000 fisherment have been included
in the programme so far.
What do you think about Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina’s request
not to consume Ilish on Pohela
Boishakh?
It is not good for our business. We
cannot deny the fact that Ilish is
now an integral part of the celebration.
She made a similar request last
year too. But I understand that she
made such a request to help with
the ban on Ilish catching during the
period of January-April, which is
the breeding season of Ilish.
What is your opinion of online Ilish
sale ?
It is a good initiative. But the price
must be reasonable. •