NEW DELHI: Bangladesh‘s interim government on Saturday withdrew its ban on the export of Hilsa fish to India and announced that it will export 3,000 tonnes of Hilsa during the upcoming Durga Puja festival, which will take place from October 9 to 13.
The Muhammad Yunus-led interim government earlier this month imposed a ban on hilsa exports to India to ensure sufficient domestic supply.
“Against the backdrop of appeals by the exporters, approval has been given to export 3,000 tonnes of hilsa fish (to India), fulfilling the specific conditions on the occasion of the upcoming Durga Puja,” the Bangladeshi commerce ministry said in a statement.
In 2023, Bangladesh granted permission to 79 companies to export a total of 4,000 tonnes of hilsa fish to India, aligning with the Durga Puja festival, according to official sources.
Earlier this month, India’s Fish Importers Association reached out to Bangladesh foreign affairs adviser Touhid Hossain, urging him to permit the export of hilsa to India during Durga Puja. This request came amidst uncertainty surrounding the shipments of the fish this year, following recent unrest and a change in government in Bangladesh.
In a letter dated September 9, the Association’s secretary, Syed Anwar Maqsood, highlighted that although Bangladesh implemented a ban on hilsa export in 2012, the country has been allowing limited exports from the first week of September until the end of the Durga Puja festival for the past five years as a gesture of goodwill.
As the leading global producer of hilsa, Bangladesh typically imposes restrictions on the export of this fish to meet the high domestic demand. However, during the Durga Puja festivities, the country usually eases the export ban on hilsa.
The practice of allowing hilsa exports to India between September and October each year, as a gesture of goodwill, had been a long-standing tradition under the previous Awami League government, led by the deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
The Muhammad Yunus-led interim government earlier this month imposed a ban on hilsa exports to India to ensure sufficient domestic supply.
“Against the backdrop of appeals by the exporters, approval has been given to export 3,000 tonnes of hilsa fish (to India), fulfilling the specific conditions on the occasion of the upcoming Durga Puja,” the Bangladeshi commerce ministry said in a statement.
In 2023, Bangladesh granted permission to 79 companies to export a total of 4,000 tonnes of hilsa fish to India, aligning with the Durga Puja festival, according to official sources.
Earlier this month, India’s Fish Importers Association reached out to Bangladesh foreign affairs adviser Touhid Hossain, urging him to permit the export of hilsa to India during Durga Puja. This request came amidst uncertainty surrounding the shipments of the fish this year, following recent unrest and a change in government in Bangladesh.
In a letter dated September 9, the Association’s secretary, Syed Anwar Maqsood, highlighted that although Bangladesh implemented a ban on hilsa export in 2012, the country has been allowing limited exports from the first week of September until the end of the Durga Puja festival for the past five years as a gesture of goodwill.
As the leading global producer of hilsa, Bangladesh typically imposes restrictions on the export of this fish to meet the high domestic demand. However, during the Durga Puja festivities, the country usually eases the export ban on hilsa.
The practice of allowing hilsa exports to India between September and October each year, as a gesture of goodwill, had been a long-standing tradition under the previous Awami League government, led by the deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina.