B Mirror Desk : A week before the Bangla New Year, on April 14, the demand for hilsa soars, causing some traders who stock the national fish in cold storage to sell it at higher than usual. However, the demand for fresh hilsa is even greater, resulting in even steeper prices. At Pahela Baishakh, Bangalees from both sides of the border indulge in “Panta Ilish,” a traditional dish that consists of a piece of fried hilsa served with rice soaked in water and occasionally accompanied by a green chilli.

Currently, most of the fresh hilsa available weighs between 450 g and 650 g. Fish weighing 450 g to 500 g are selling for Tk 1,400 per kg, while those weighing between 550 g and 650 g are marketed at Tk 1,700 to Tk 1,800 per kg. Fresh hilsa that weighs between 300 and 400 grams per kilogram is more readily available in Dhaka markets and costs between Tk 800 and Tk 1,000 per kilogram.

Similar pricing ranges were noted when visiting the fish markets in Magh Bazar, Farmgate, and Jatrabari. Meanwhile, fresh hilsa weighing between 1 and 1.5 kg was being sold for Tk 3,200 per kg at a store in ghulshan.

According to our correspondent in Chadpur, fresh catch weighing 1 kg or more was priced at Tk 3,250 per kg at the wholesale market, where fish weighing more than 1 kg were being sold for Tk 1,30,000 every 40 kg. The cost of 500–600 g fish ranged from Tk 60,000 to Tk 70,000 per maund (40 kg).