Hilsa shift: Gujarat’s Bharuch emerges as key fish supplier amid Bangladesh shortfall; here’s what’s happening

Your next plate of hilsa may well have its origins in Bharuch, Gujarat, rather than the usual fishing grounds of West Bengal or Bangladesh. According to ET, Bharuch has delivered a record 4,000 tonnes of hilsa across the country during July–August, at a time when imports from Bangladesh have yet to begin this year and production in West Bengal has more than halved from a year earlier.Fish from Bharuch’s Narmada River, after migrating from the Arabian Sea, is being retailed in Kolkata and distributed further to Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru and Chennai. Traders quoted by ET said that the larger-sized fish of around 1–1.2 kg dominate the supply, though smaller catches of 700–800 grams are also available. Prices range between Rs 1,200–1,400 per kg, with smaller fish selling at Rs 800–900 each. “This time around 4,000 tonnes of hilsa has arrived from Bharuch, which is the highest in the last many years,” said Syed Anwar Maqsood, secretary of Howrah Wholesale Fish Market, as per ET.With West Bengal’s production in sharp decline, falling from 260,000 tonnes in 2020, fish sellers said they had been relying on imports from Myanmar to meet demand. Tapan Karmakar, a trader at Kolkata’s Gariahat market, noted that customers are now consuming hilsa from Bharuch “even though they do not know the sourcing point.”Overfishing of juveniles and brood fish in the Bay of Bengal, combined with weak enforcement, poorly designed fish passes at barrages, climate change and erratic monsoons, has worsened supply shortages, as per ET. Sunil Singh, a trader in Gurugram’s Sikandarpur market, said they are selling hilsa sourced from Kolkata at Rs 1,400–1,600 per kg.Meanwhile, importers are lobbying for Bangladesh hilsa, prized for its Padma river variety. Maqsood, who is also secretary of the Fish Importers Association, said the body has written to Touhid Hossain, adviser to Bangladesh’s foreign ministry, seeking permission for exports ahead of the festive season. “Even the exporters from Bangladesh are keen to send hilsa to India but the government needs to give permission,” he said.Last year, Bangladesh permitted exports of 2,420 tonnes in September, but only 577 tonnes reached India due to the tight one-month export window. “It is difficult to import this huge quantity of fish within this span of time,” Maqsood said.