If you cannot relish the delectable Padmar ilish this festive season, blame it on the fall of a big fish.

The interim government in Bangladesh has reportedly decided to stop the export of hilsa to India ostensibly to meet domestic demand, ending a tradition nurtured by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has taken refuge in India after being overthrown last month.

Hasina used to send consignments of hilsa to India every year between August and October as a goodwill gesture.

Farida Akhter, an adviser to the ministry of fisheries and livestock in the neighbouring nation, said during a meeting with the Fisheries and Livestock Journalists Forum earlier this week that no hilsa would be exported to India this year.

Akhter reportedly emphasised that the export ban was aimed at controlling domestic prices and ensuring hilsa remained accessible to lower-income households in Bangladesh.

“No hilsa will be exported to India for Durga Puja this year,” she was quoted by several media outlets in Bangladesh as saying.

A source in Bangladesh said that though the adviser referred to domestic demand to justify the export ban, the real reason was the growing anti-Indian sentiments in the country after Hasina’s fall.

The interim government, headed by Muhammad Yunus, doesn’t want to take the risk of allowing the export of hilsa at the moment, said a source.

“Even if the prices don’t soften, the news of an export ban will please people here. That’s the main reason behind the ban,” the source added.

Since taking charge, the interim government in Bangladesh has been facing increasing domestic pressure to halt hilsa exports, particularly on the ground that it made the fish too expensive for locals.

A senior Bangladesh journalist told this newspaper that the export ban was yet to yield the desired results as the price of hilsa had not come down.

“For a brief period last month, the price of 1kg hilsa came down to Tk 1,600.... Now, a 1kg hilsa is again selling at Tk 1,800-1,900,” said the journalist.

Last year, the first consignment of Padmar ilish arrived in Bengal from Bangladesh through the Petrapole land port on September 21. Nine cargo trucks, each carrying five tonnes of hilsa, had come from Barishal. The Bangladesh commerce ministry had allowed 79 fish exporters to send 3,950 tonnes of hilsa to India as a special gesture during Durga Puja.

“Please don’t call it geopolitics.... The export ban is primarily due to a lower harvest this time. The seasonal ban on hilsa catching was lifted on August 23. Since then, the harvest is lower compared to earlier years and that’s why the pause button has been pressed on exports,” said a source in the interim government.

He, however, did not want to comment when asked whether the “pause” would be lifted if the harvest improved.

This is not the first time Bangladesh has imposed a ban on the export of hilsa. In July 2012, Bangladesh halted the export of hilsa in the face of steep domestic demand and to prevent the netting of smaller-sized fish.

That move prompted the Mamata Banerjee government to put pressure on the Centre to take up the issue with Bangladesh. When Mamata had a one-on-one meeting with Hasina in February 2015, she had requested the then Bangladesh Prime Minister to lift the ban.

Finally in September 2020, Hasina temporarily lifted the ban and allowed the export of hilsa to India as a goodwill gesture ahead of Durga Puja.

The news of a fresh ban on exports has dampened the festive mood. “This decision is quite unexpected. Every year, we prepare for the festive season by ensuring a steady supply of Padmar ilish. This year, however, will be different,” said a fish importer at the Petrapole land port.

Bengal’s fish traders will now have to rely on hilsa sourced from Myanmar and Odisha.

Currently, hilsa weighing over 1kg from Bangladesh is sold in the market at around ₹2,000 to ₹2,200 per kg.

A member of the Fish Importers’ Association in Calcutta said: “Hilsa from Myanmar and Odisha is already 30 per cent more expensive than last year. Prices are expected to rise further due to the unavailability of Bangladeshi hilsa.”