Consumers in Bangladesh have complained that hilsa imported from India’s Gujarat is being sold as locally sourced Padma hilsa, despite lacking the familiar taste and texture of domestic fish. The Bangladesh government temporarily banned hilsa imports from India on Wednesday, September 23, cancelling 103 no-objection certificates issued to importers.
Narayan Chandra bought two 800-gram hilsa from a local market at Tk1,200 each, marking his first hilsa purchase of the season. Chandra said the fish began breaking apart after being placed in hot mustard oil.
“I wondered whether it was Gujarat hilsa or old stale fish,” Chandra told Indian news outlet The Print by telephone from Dhaka. “It did not taste like Bangladeshi hilsa, and my dinner was ruined.”
Allegations have emerged that tonnes of hilsa from Gujarat’s Narmada region have recently entered Bangladesh, where unscrupulous traders have been selling them as genuine Padma hilsa.
Media reports said about 553 tonnes of Indian hilsa entered Bangladesh through Benapole Land Port between July 20 and September 20.
A fish trader in Dhaka told The Print that sellers had spread misinformation by claiming that all the fish were Padma hilsa, persuading ordinary buyers to purchase Gujarat fish.
“Gujarat hilsa is somewhat cheaper and considerably larger, but it is nowhere close to our domestic hilsa in terms of taste,” the trader said.
Alamgir Patwary, a resident of Chandpur, said he recognised the difference after a seller claimed that a hilsa he was offering was genuine local fish.
“Gujarat hilsa looks somewhat like sea fish,” Patwary said. “It does not have the familiar sweetness and flavour of domestic hilsa.”
The Bangladesh Marine Fisheries Association, or BMFA, said Gujarat hilsa was still entering markets through illegal smuggling routes despite the formal import suspension.
Sheikh Abid Hossain, general secretary of the BMFA, said around 75 tonnes of hilsa entered markets across the country through the Sundarbans border area on Wednesday. Hossain said he also saw Gujarat hilsa being sold in Dhaka after Friday prayers.
“It may be difficult for an ordinary person to identify the difference at first sight, but those of us who have worked in this sector for a long time can identify the genuine and counterfeit fish immediately,” Hossain said.
The Dhaka fish trader said Gujarat hilsa was now available in several major markets in the capital, although no one could confirm when supplies first began reaching Bangladesh.
Chandra said he eventually understood why the hilsa he bought had tasted different. “It was impossible to cook a delicious hilsa curry with this fish,” he said.
Chandra’s family ultimately prepared hilsa bhorta with the fish. Recalling a purchase from a Chandpur wholesale market about two years ago, Chandra said he had bought several kilograms of Padma hilsa, with a one-kilogram Chandpur hilsa costing about Tk2,000.
“That hilsa did not require any extra oil for frying,” Chandra said. “As soon as it began frying in a hot pan, the aroma would let the whole neighbourhood know that hilsa was being cooked.”