Even Pangas and Tilapia Are Now Beyond the Reach of the Poor, Raising Fears Over Protein Supply

The price of pangas and tilapia — fish that once filled up a market bag cheaply — is now making it impossible for middle- and low-income families to balance their budgets. Other fish were already out of reach. These two farmed fish, known as the last hope for protein, are now selling in markets at Tk200 to Tk250 per kilogram. As a result, many families are being forced to reduce the amount of fish on their plates.

Visits to different markets in the capital found pangas priced at Tk180 to Tk220 per kg depending on size. Tilapia is even dearer. Medium-sized tilapia is selling at Tk220, while large tilapia weighing over a kilogram costs Tk240 to Tk250.

In other words, the price of a medium tilapia is now almost equal to that of a large pangas, creating extra pressure for ordinary buyers.

Ershad Ali, a resident of the capital's Rampura area, is a carpenter by profession. In his four-member family, he now has to recalculate how much fish to buy. He said, we cannot buy other fish such as rui, katla, boal or shing at all. We used to buy only pangas and tilapia. Now their prices are high too. So I have reduced buying fish.

Although he has had to cut the quantity, he has not stopped buying fish entirely. Ershad Ali said cut pangas is sometimes available in the market, from which half a kilogram can also be bought, and he sometimes buys that. For tilapia, he waits for the price. He said, when the price of small tilapia is low, I buy it. But now the price is high, so tilapia cannot be bought either.

At Malibag market, garment worker Dulu Mia spoke of the same pressure. For this limited-income buyer, pangas and tilapia were the last refuge for buying fish. With prices rising, that refuge has now become difficult for him too.

Dulu Mia said the price of pangas and tilapia was somewhat lower even a few days ago. Now it is high again. So buying these fish has also become difficult for low-income people like us.

Yet even with higher prices, he has no scope to stop buying fish altogether. He buys at least once a week. Mentioning his family as the reason, he said, since there are children and a wife in the family, it is not possible not to buy fish. So one or two days a week I buy pangas and tilapia at the higher price. But the quantity bought is less than before.

Tilapia is now selling at Tk220 to Tk250 per kg in the market. In 2022, the price of this fish started at Tk140 per kg. By that calculation, the price per kg has risen by about 25 to 57 percent.

The condition of pangas, another favourite fish of the poor, is the same. Pangas weighing one to one and a half kilograms is now available at Tk180 to Tk220 per kg. Pangas of two to three kilograms costs Tk220 to Tk250, and fish larger than that costs even more. Yet a few years ago, small and medium pangas could be bought at Tk120 to Tk150 per kg.

A large part of the country's freshwater fish supply comes from farming. Mymensingh, Jashore, Bogura, Rajshahi, Cumilla and surrounding districts are the most advanced in this sector. According to the Department of Fisheries, eight species are farmed the most in ponds — pangas, tilapia, rui, katla, silver carp, mrigal, common carp and koi. Among them, pangas and tilapia are at the top in production.

In the 2023-24 fiscal year, pangas production in the country was 405,000 tonnes, and tilapia 354,000 tonnes. Together, production of the two fish stands at 759,000 tonnes. But as production costs have risen, the prices of these fish in the market have increased.

While buyers are under pressure over prices in the market, sellers too are feeling its effect in sales. Aminul Islam, a fish seller at Badda market, said fish prices have increased somewhat. As a result, our sales have decreased.

Explaining the pattern of falling sales, he said a buyer who earlier bought one, one and a half or two kilograms of pangas and tilapia is now buying half of that. Because prices are high, buyers are buying less, and that has reduced sales for sellers like us.

Asked about the reasons behind the price rise, Karwan Bazar fish seller Abul Kalam pointed to rising costs across the entire supply chain from farming to the retail market. He said the first reason is the price of fish feed. Feed prices have risen, so production costs have risen too. As costs rose, farmers are selling fish in wholesale markets at higher prices than before, and its impact is falling on retail markets.

As a second reason, he mentioned the rise in fuel prices, saying the rent of a vehicle to bring and carry fish was earlier Tk15,000 to Tk16,000. Now it has risen to Tk20,000 or more. This extra rent is added per kilogram to the amount of fish loaded on a vehicle. Beyond this, extra money also has to be paid in various sectors at different places, including to linemen.

According to those concerned at the Fisheries Research Institute, if the price of pangas, a cheap source of protein, rises, ordinary people's fish consumption will fall. This can create a deficit in nutrition security. Production costs are rising because fish feed is expensive. They said emphasis must be placed on research to reduce feed prices.

The two fish produced the most in the country have now reached the limit of affordability for people with limited incomes. If effective steps are not taken to control prices, there is now fear across the market that this easily available source of protein may gradually disappear from ordinary people's plates.