Boro season: Govt building fertiliser stock
The government yesterday approved import of 1.8 lakh tonnes of fertiliser so that farmers do not face any crisis in the Boro season by the end of December.
The decision was made during a meeting of the cabinet committee on government purchase.
The government has been buying fertiliser for weeks to provide the vital agricultural input to farmers at subsidised rates amid the economic uncertainty.
An agriculture ministry official said the government's focus was on domestic food production because the Russia-Ukraine war created concerns over food security. This is why the government will continue to develop its stock of fertiliser.
It was decided at yesterday's meeting that 90,000 tonnes of urea will be imported from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates by the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) of the industries ministry.
The urea will cost $594.17 per tonne, said Additional Secretary Sayeed Mahbub Khan of the cabinet division, adding that urea earlier cost $625.83 per tonne.
The government will also import 50,000 tonnes of Muriate of Potash (MOP) from Canada and another 40,000 tonnes of Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) from Saudi Arabia, he added.
The latest purchase price of MOP will be $788 per tonne while its earlier price was $821 per tonne, he said.
On the other hand, the latest price of DAP will be $725.25 per tonne which was $826.5 previously, he added.
The agriculture ministry projects a requirement for 55.5 lakh tonnes of chemical fertiliser for fiscal 2022-23 and most of it would be met through imports because domestic production is inadequate.
Bangladeshi factories produce 10 lakh tonnes of urea and small quantities of triple super phosphate and diammonium phosphate a year.
But in fiscal 2021-22, farmers used over 55 lakh tonnes of fertiliser.
In September, Agriculture Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque said there will be no fertiliser crisis in Bangladesh, even if the country faced a shortage of gas.
If the government does not get enough gas for fertiliser production, imported fertilisers will be supplied to the farmers even if the price of fertilisers is high in the international market.
Yesterday, the government purchase committee also approved BCIC to import 30,000 tonnes of phosphoric acid from the UAE for the state-owned DAP Fertiliser Company Limited.
The committee also approved paying Tk 983.82 crore to the China Communications Construction Company Ltd for maintenance and toll collection at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel (Karnaphuli Tunnel) in Chattogram.
The company will get 65 percent of the total amount in local currency.
Additional Secretary Sayeed Mahbub Khan said there was no mention of payment in foreign currency in the earlier proposal. Now, this has been specified in the revised proposal.
Meanwhile, at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs a proposal was placed by the information ministry regarding procurement of broadcast rights of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 for Bangladesh Television from Tomma Construction and Co Ltd under the direct purchase method (DPM).
The additional secretary said the proposal was discussed at the meeting but no decision was made.
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