Indian importers urge Bangladesh to lift export ban on 'Hilsa' fish ahead of Durga Puja
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Indian importers urge Bangladesh to lift export ban on 'Hilsa' fish ahead of Durga Puja")
Representative image. Photograph: (Wikimedia Commons)
The Fish Importers' Association pointed to its decades-long trade ties with Bangladesh, noting that it has been importing Hilsa fish through land customs posts in West Bengal and Tripura since 1996.
Indian fish importers on Friday (September 11) asked Bangladesh to revoke the export ban on the queen of fishes, Hilsa, ahead of Durga Puja. A Kolkata-based importer association wrote a letter to the Bangladesh Commerce Minister demanding permission to resume exports. The Fish Importers' Association made the request, with Bangladesh considering it positively. The union group describes itself as an association for fish connoisseurs from beyond borders
In its letter, the association pointed to its decades-long trade ties with Bangladesh, noting that it has been importing Hilsa fish through land customs posts in West Bengal and Tripura since 1996. "We would like to inform you that since the year 1996 we have been engaged in importing Hilsa Fish from Bangladesh via Benapole LCS (West Bengal, India) and Akhaura LCS (Tripura, India)," the importer association said in the letter.
Bangladesh bans export of Hilsa fish in 2012
The association also highlighted the ban Bangladesh imposed in 2012, noting that it had continuously approached the government seeking its removal. "Unfortunately, in July 2012, the Government of Bangladesh banned the export of Hilsa fish. Since then we have been actively writing to the Government of Bangladesh for lifting the ban, but to no avail," it added.
The letter explained that Bangladesh later began permitting a limited quantity of Hilsa exports around Durga Puja starting in September 2019, but that this arrangement has proven unworkable because of the narrow timeframe involved. Since then, Bangladeshi authorities have granted special export clearance for Hilsa only during the Durga Puja season, restricting it to a single month, a window the association says is simply too short to be practical.
Trending Stories
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
According to news agency ANI, the importers also stressed the deep cultural, linguistic and culinary bonds shared across the two Bengals, along with how much Hilsa is loved in eastern India. "We would also like to inform you that 'Aiee paarer Baangla' shares a very special relation with 'Oyee paarer Baangla' since the language, food and culture are almost the same. The connoisseurs of fish from West Bengal, Assam and Tripura go haywire for their favourite delicacy, Poddar ilish," the association said.
