Burmese Fishes Highly Demanded in Bangladesh

Chittagong, April 23: Smuggled fishes from Burma are highly demanded by consumers in Bangladesh as they are cheaper than those of other variety fishes in Bangladesh.

The fishes mostly come from Arakan coast and Irrawaddy Division of Burma enters Teknaf, a border town of Bangladesh by smuggling boats. The smugglers load the fishes into trucks at Teknaf land port to transport them to Chittagong Fishery Ghat, managing all the check points from Teknaf to Chittagong. The Syndicates of Chittagon take responsibility for the transportation of smuggled fishes, said Kulshid, a broker of fishes.

The smugglers generally bring Rui, Katal, Mrigal, Crab, Shrimp, Lates calcarifer, Hamilton’s carp fishes from Burma through the Teknaf border. The fish like Rui, Katal and crab are very cheap in Teknaf markets and sell at Taka (Tk) 25 to 35 per kg, but in Chittagong markets they sell for between Tk 70 to 100, he further said.

Retail traders buy fish from “Fishery Ghat” and sell them at major kitchen markets of Chittagong and throughout the country by supplying with trucks as the Burmese fishes are very cheap. Especially, the city hotel and restaurant owners are the major buyers of these fishes.

The journey from Burma to Teknaf usually takes seven days according to the weather condition and distance. So, the smugglers push formalin, a poisonous chemical and ice to keep the fishes fresh and free from rot and stink for a longer period, said a fish trader, who came at Teknaf with smuggled fishes by boat.

“Dr. Matiuar Khan of Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) said, “Most of the consumers have in fact no idea about the long-term harmful impact of eating these fishes and have no knowledge about the traders are using the poisonous chemical. The formalin is basically a poisonous chemical and its presence in fish can lead to different health hazards like vomiting tendency, diarrhea, headache, stomach problem and high blood pressure.”

Burma is a country of abundance of fresh and sea fishes and the prices are cheap as it has a long coast and naturally plenty of rivers, ponds and lakes. So, the smugglers of both countries take advantage of the situation. The bulk of the fishes are imported through legal and illegal ways to Bangladesh by fish traders. ##

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