Hilsa production increases in 15yrs

Hilsa production has increased by more than two and a half fold in the last fifteen years due to different efforts of government including imposing ban on catching brood hilsa and jatka (hilsa fry), State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock Ashraf Ali Khan Khasru informed parliament today.

In 2017-18, the hilsa production stood at 5.17 lakh tonnes, up from 1.99 lakh tonnes in 2002-03, Ashraf Ali said while answering a query of ruling lawmaker Abdul Latif.

The minister said that the market price of total of 5.17 lakh tonnes hilsa will be around Tk 20,000 crore if the price of one-kilogram hilsa was Tk 400.

The hilsa management policy of Bangladesh has become a model and India and Mynamar are following it, the minister added.

He hoped that the total production of hilsa will cross 5.50 lakh tonnes in the next five years.

Ashraf Ali Khan while answering another question of ruling lawmaker Manjur Hossain said that 38,571 tonnes of dry fish was produced in 2017-18 fiscal year, of which 75 per cent was sea fish. Bangladesh exported 3,357 tonnes of that dry fish and earned Tk 69 crore.

The minister said that per capita milk, meat and egg consumptions have increased since 2008-09 fiscal year, in reply to a query of another treasury bench MP Samil Uddin Ahmed Shimul.

Ashraf Ali Khan said the availability of per capital milk per day was 158.19 millilitre in 2017-18 fiscal up from 43.35 millilitre of 2008-09 fiscal.

Availability of per capita meat per day was 122 grams in 2017-18 fiscal, an increase from 20 grams of 2008-09. Availability of per capital egg per year was 95 in 2017-18 fiscal, an up from 32 in 2008-2009.