Coronavirus serves up a surplus of hilsha in the market this Baishakh
The rapid spread of coronavirus in Bangladesh has shattered traders' hopes of a sales bonanza of hilsha fish marking the celebration of Pahela Baishakh, the first day of the Bangla new year.
The government has already imposed restriction on gathering on the first day of the Bangla calendar year 1427, slated on April 14, with the view to flattening the curve on the lethal pathogen that has infected a lot more than 1.4 million globally and claimed 83,568 lives.
Typically, sales of the much-cherished fish get started to surge two-three weeks prior to the Pahela Baishakh. But this year has been unlike any other -- in recent memory.
"It's under a week to Pahela Baishakh and there is absolutely no query or advance orders for hilsha this season," said Narrotheam Das, owner of Partha Enterprise, a fish trader at Karwan Bazar, one of the primary wholesale kitchen markets in Dhaka.
And he's not banking on a change in scenario either given the stringent movement control order that's coming into play per hour as the quantity of confirmed coronavirus cases escalate by the day.
The fish, loved by persons of most walks of life as a result of its distinct taste, has become a fundamental element of celebration of the largest cultural event, Bangla new year, particularly among the urban middle-class, in recent decades.
And several traders store the fish in cold storages to benefit from the clamour for hilsha prior to the festival.
"You will have no business this season," said Mohamamd Mostafa, owner of Emon Enterprise, which includes stored 12 tonnes of hilsha to profit eyeing the Pahela Baishaki demand.
People are not coming out of their homes unless they must.
"Where is the mood of Baishakhi celebration?"
Now Mosfata, who gets his supplies from areas such as for example Noakhali and Barishal, where the fish are caught from rivers, are banking on a return of appetite for the delicacy once coronavirus is snuffed out.
No estimate of sales of hilsha marking the celebration of Bangla new year's day is available.
In his guestimate, Mosharof Hossain, general secretary of 5 STAR Fish Traders Association of Karwan Bazar that handles nearly 300 tonnes of fishes daily, said Boishakhi day sales may be one-fifth the total gross annual sales of hilsha domestically.
He echoed the same as others about the most depressing market condition.
"The marketplace has been almost out of customers going back one week," he said, adding that owners of almost half of the 500 stores here have remained shut.
But on the bright side -- and for many who have been intrepid enough to step out of their houses and venture into the kitchen markets -- the cost of hilsha, which normally blows up around this time of the entire year, has remained subdued in the last fortnight.
The cost of four pieces of hilsha -- weighing multiple kilogram each -- is now Tk 4,500-Tk 5,000 at the wholesale level, according to Hossain.
"Because of coronavirus effect, the purchase price is unlikely to improve ahead of the Pahela Boishakh."
And they are sitting on surplus of the fish, which is native to the region.
"There exists a good stock of fishes in the cold storages. Besides, we have also seen good catches of hilsha this season weighed against previous year," Hossain said.
The primary hilsha catching season commences in May and leads to the first week of October.
And catches of the fish have increased recently because of the government's restriction on hooking young hilsha, termed jatka, for eight months, ban on catches in five breeding grounds for two months, curb on fishing in seas for 65 days and two-day restriction on catches during breeding season.
Hilsha catches rose 79 % in a decade to 5.33 lakh tonnes in fiscal 2018-19, showed data from the Department of Fisheries (DoF).
The national fish accounted for 12 % of the total annual fish production of 42.76 lakh tones in fiscal 2017-18.
It also makes up about nearly 1 per cent of the country's GDP and 20 lakh people, including fishermen, are involved in its trade, according to the DoF.
"This year, we had catches in months never seen before," said Syed Mohammad Sohel, a fish trader at Jatrabari, another major wholesale hub in Dhaka city.
Due to increased production and declining demand for coronavirus, the costs of the fish have already been low: he sold a hilsha weighing one kg for Tk 700 yesterday.
Previously, that fish will be choosing Tk 3,000, Sohel said.
