DAP Fertiliser: Govt moves to cut price by Tk 9 a kg
The government is going to reduce prices of diammonium phosphate (DAP) fertiliser by Tk 9 a kg at farmer and dealer levels.
When the new prices come into effect, farmers will be able to buy one kg of this fertiliser for Tk 16 in retail. The price for dealers will be Tk 14 a kg, Agriculture Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque told a press briefing at his secretariat office yesterday.
At present, farmers can purchase one kg of the fertiliser for Tk 25 and dealers for Tk 23.
He said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina already approved the new prices, while his ministry would need some time to issue an order to make the new prices effective.
The use of DAP in the country is about 4 to 5 lakh tonnes at present, said the minister.
The ministry has decided to cut the DAP price, expecting that it would help increase the use of this fertiliser and gradually lower the use of urea and triple super phosphate (TSP) among farmers, he said.
The ministry has to subsidise about Tk 800 crore for DAP alone, he said, adding that they now give about Tk 7,000 crore to the fertiliser sector in subsidies.
The minister added that they took different steps to bring down the onion price.
Farmers of this country can grow onion as there is land to cultivate the produce and the weather is favourable for its cultivation. So, there should not be onion deficit in the country “if we can ensure its storage accordingly”, he said.
On high prices of vegetables, the minister said among many reasons, this was because transportation cost was unusually high and vegetables are perishable. “I think that it [the price] will go down soon.”
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