French pride on wine and caviar, Germans on beer and sausage, the English comes closer to Bengalis when they flaunt their fish and chips.
Yes, Bengalis would go any extent for a good helping of Hilsa (Ilish in Bangla).
Prodded by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and perhaps also by India's first Bengali president Pranab Mukherjee, India has now decided to take Hilsa off from the negative list of imports from ASEAN countries.
Once the process is complete with all its bureaucratic delays perhaps by year end, it will pave the way for duty free import of Hilsa from Myanmar, which is now in the ASEAN and taking over its chairmanship this year.
“That will drastically bring down the price of Hilsa in Calcutta and other cities of West Bengal and other neighbouring states with big Bengali population,” says West Bengal's food minister Jyotipriya Mullick.
West Bengal's catch of the coveted fish has fallen from 4570 tonnes in 2011 to only 657 tonnes in 2012.
Unrestrained round-the-year fishing is said to be cause of the sharp drop in catch, as fishermen trying to make hay while the sun shines and prices are higher pulled out khoka Hilsa (infant Hilsa) without allowing the fish to grow in size.
Bangladesh, which was West Bengal's major source of supply of Hilsa, also restricted supply in 2012 to meet domestic demand and stabilise the price in local markets.
Left with no options, fish traders began to push for Hilsa imports from Myanmar.
The Hilsa from the Irrawaddy delta is said to be as tasty as the one from Padma, though in the Bengali psyche Padmar ilish is the ultimate.
The price of Hilsa shot up drastically at the end of 2012 in Calcutta and never appeared to come down.
Even Hilsa of 300-500 grams were selling between 1200 to 1400 Indian rupees a kilogram — the heavier the fish, the more expensive.
Mamata Banerji wrote several letters to the Indian commerce ministry this year to facilitate Hilsa imports to bring down the price to the reach of the middle-class.
Commerce Ministry officials say even President Pranab Mukherji 'repeatedly enquired' what was being done to facililtate Hilsa imports.
Now Indian commerce minister Anand Sharma, on a visit to Myanmar, has struck a deal to double the quantum of Hilsa imports from the country.
To bring down the price, the commerce ministry has also decided to remove Hilsa from the negative list in Indo-ASEAN trade.
That will mean Hilsa imports will be duty-free — and needless to say much if not the whole of it will head for Calcutta port.
Officials say at least 2500 to 3000 tonnes of Hilsa is likely to be imported from Myanmar, all duty free.
Fish traders here anticipate when that happens, the price will drop sharply — some say, by at least half, if not more.
All's well that ends well — but Hilsa lovers in West Bengal, especially people of East Bengali origin, look forward to early bureaucratic action to make cheaper Hilsa imports happen soonest.
Source: Bd news24
