The first consignment of hilsa went to India with Durga Puja in front of it

 

Hilsa export to India has started with the approval of the government on the occasion of Durga Puja.

The consignment of 12 metric tonnes of hilsa went to India through Benapole land port on Monday evening, said Aswadul Alam, the fisheries quarantine inspector at Benapole land port.

Aswadul told bdnews24.com that the government had approved the export of 1,450 metric tonnes of hilsa on September 10 on the occasion of Durga Puja, even though the export of hilsa fish was banned.

Nine Bangladeshi companies have been allowed to export these hilsas. Each company has been allowed to export 150 to 165 metric tons of hilsa.

Mihir Mukherjee, the owner of Nila Enterprise, a C&F agent in Benapole, said the export price of hilsa was  10.8 per kg this time.

The consignment of Hilsa will be exempted from the duty-free facility from the customs of both India and Bangladesh. He said the export value of 12 metric tons of hilsa in 600 boxes in two trucks of the first consignment was one lakh 20 thousand US dollars.

The exporter of these hilsas is Jahanabad Sea Freud Limited of Khulna and the importer of India is JK International of Kolkata.

Although Padma Hilsa is popular among the Bengalis of West Bengal, the Bangladesh government has stopped its export at different times considering the demand of the country.

Before 2012, hilsa was exported to India. The government stopped exporting hilsa after 2012 due to the declining production of hilsa.

However, last year on the occasion of Durga Puja, the government approved the export of 500 tons of hilsa. Hilsa export has been stopped again since then.

This time Durga Puja, the best festival of the Bengali Hindu community, is starting in the second half of October.