Sinlung /
04 February 2010

Myanmarese Fish Flood Manipur Markets

A Myanmarese girl sells fish in Moreh.

Moreh, Feb 4 : Myanmar has long been flooding Manipur with all kinds of electronic gadgets, decorative goods and household articles ever since border trade was thrown open in 1995.

Of late, Myanmar has been trying to flood Moreh in Manipur with fish — both fresh and dried.

At the crack of dawn, young fish vendors — mostly women — cross the border and come to Moreh to sell their catch. The most favourite variety is pengba, an indigenous fish of Manipur, which is also available in Myanmar.

While this fish species is on the verge of extinction in Manipur, pengba is found in abundance in Myanmar.

“I come here frequently only to buy pengba and dried fish,” said Brojendra Meitei, a resident of Imphal, showing his purchase — a 1.5kg pengba. The fish is sold at Rs 160 per kg.

“You will have to wake up early and arrive at the market before the vendors arrive from Tamu (Myanmar). If you are late you will not find any,” he said.

Dried fish is also available in plenty and at cheaper rates. Many people from Imphal go to Moreh to purchase this for sale in Imphal.

“You can earn a good income by selling Myanmar fish in the market,” Khogen Singh, another Imphal resident, said.

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