GUWAHATI: Four days after the Assam government imposed a 10-day ban on the import of fish from outside the state, the prices of local fish here have reportedly not seen any abnormal rise so far even as there is a noticeable “lull” in the markets with the cheaper challani variety “out of stock”.
The state government directive came on Tuesday afternoon in the wake of formalin detection in a sample collected from the wholesale market at Betkuchi here on June 29. Bulk of the fish that comes from places like Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh are stocked and distributed at the Betkuchi market.
“This is off season and the supply is less compared to the demand. Currently, about 7000kg local fish is sold at a wholesale (paikari) rate at the Uzanbazar ghat every day. As of today, we have not raised prices. The trend that we have noticed after the ban on the challani variety, is that the local fish is getting sold faster than before,” Bhaskar Das, the general secretary of the Brihattar Uzanbazar Nibonua Matsya Byabaxayi Santha, told The Shillong Times on Saturday.
There was apprehension among fish consumers that the retail prices of local fish would skyrocket after the ban, but the rates have been kept at normal levels.
Sources said that a few retailers may have taken advantage of the situation in the the first two days, but generally, prices have not skyrocketed by any means in the city’s markets.
“The retail prices of local fish have remained more or less the same as before the ban. Today, rohu variety is selling for about Rs 300 per kg, catla for above Rs 300 and ari above Rs 400,” Rajesh Paswan, a retail fish trader said.
Also with the Brahmaputra levels on the rise, the supply of fish is less and the rates fluctuate with variations in demand and supply.
At the GMC market in Uzanbazar, there were just about three to four shops open on Saturday morning. Asked whether the lull was partly due to the out-of stock variety, a trader answered in the affirmative but denied any price rise in retail rates.
Teams from Andhra Pradesh are here in Assam to check the quality of fish sold at the wholesale market here and also to take precautionary measures following an intervention at the highest level.
Assam minister of state for health, Pijush Hazarika, who has himself visited sites over a month-long food safety drive, has however assured that the inspections would resume once the ban period is over and that any defaulter would be punished as per the provisions of the Food Safety Act.