Kolkata, Sept. 18 -- Bangladesh has allowed around 1200 metric tonnes (MT) of hilsa to be exported to West Bengal this year, the first consignment of which reached the state on Wednesday.Eight trucks carrying around 32 tonnes of the popular fish reached West Bengal, traders said. In 2012, the Sheikh Hasina-government had imposed a ban on the export of hilsa. From 2019, however, the Bangladesh government has been allowing a few thousand tonnes of Hilsa to be exported to India every year ahead of Durga Puja. Hilsa (ilish) holds deep cultural value in West Bengal, where the fish is part of Durga Puja rituals. Fish importers in Kolkata, however, said that this is the lowest quantity of hilsa that Bangladesh has allowed to be exported to West Bengal since 2019. Importers also apprehend that even this small amount may not entirely reach West Bengal, as the window allotted for the trade by the Bangladesh authorities is too short - till October 5. "This year the Bangladesh government has allowed only 1200 MT of hilsa to be exported to India. This is the lowest quantity since 2019. On Wednesday, trucks carrying around 30 MT reached the Indo-Bangla border at Petrapole in North 24 Parganas. The fish will be available in the markets in and around Kolkata from Thursday," said Syed Anwar Maqsood, secretary of the Fish Importers in Kolkata. Hilsa is often tagged as the "Queen of Fish" for its taste and the Bangladeshi-hilsa found in the Padma River, is considered to be tastier than its Indian counterpart, which is found in the Hooghly River in West Bengal. Outside West Bengal, the Bangladeshi Hilsa is in great demand in Assam and Tripura. Fish traders said since there was uncertainty over supplies from Bangladesh this year due to the strained relations between the two neighbours, a record amount of the fish was procured from Gujarat. "Every year, fish traders in Howrah and Kolkata procure around 500-700 MTof Hilsa from Gujarat. But this year, more than 4,000 MT of the fish have already arrived from Gujarat," said Maqsood....