Govt hikes prices of all fertilisers by Tk 5 per kg

Staff Reporter :
Though the Agriculture Minister had said that the government had no plan to raise the prices of fertilisers in the coming years, but the government has raised the price of fertilisers – including Urea, DAP, TSP and MOP – by taka five per kilogram in view of the price hike in the global markets.
According to a notice issued by the Fertiliser Management and Monitoring Branch of the Ministry of Agriculture on Monday, the price was hiked for both dealers and farmers level and the new price will be effective immediately from Monday (April 10). Earlier on April 3, Agriculture Minister Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque after a meeting on ‘The National Coordination and Advisory Committee on fertiliser’ had said, “The prices of fertilisers will not increase further and the government will ensure that the farmers get enough fertilisers. We won’t allow any crisis to be created over fertiliser for the continuation of food production and the government will take measures so that the farmers would not face any harassment. If they (farmers) face any harassment regarding, we will see poor crop production.”
According to the Agricultural Ministry notice, “Fertiliser price has increased in the international market in light of the current global economy, as a result, the selling price of fertilisers have been readjusted in order to maintain its import at a reasonable level and ensure the best use of it.”
From now on, the Urea price at the dealer and farmer level will be Tk 25 and Tk 27 per kg respectively, which was Tk 20 and Tk 22 previously.
The price of Urea was last readjusted at Tk 22 per kg for farmers and Tk 20 per kg for dealers in August 2022.
Besides, Di-ammonium Phosphate popularly known as DAP price has been fixed at Tk 19 and Tk 21 per kg for dealers and farmers respectively and MOP (Muriate of potash) price will be Tk 18 and Tk 20 per kg.
Meanwhile, the price of per kg Triple superphosphate (TSP) will be the same as urea which is Tk 25 for dealers and Tk 27 for farmers.
“It’s true that there will be pressure on the farmers due to the price hike. But the government is forced to increase the price of fertilisers considering the global economic situation and the country. We would like to compensate the loss of the farmer in seed or otherwise,” Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque made the comments while responding to journalist’s query regarding price hike of fertiliser at the Secretariat on Tuesday.
He didn’t want the price of fertiliser to increase in any way; the Agriculture Minister said and added that the Finance Ministry was adamant that the price must be increased.
“The Prime Minister also said not to increase the price of fertiliser, but at the request of the Finance Ministry, it had to be increased. The increase in prices was not compared to the increase in global fertiliser prices. Still the government has to subsidise huge sums of money in fertilisers. However, if the global price comes down, the price of fertiliser will be adjusted,” Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque said.
Fertilizer demand is high until Boro paddy and after which the demand for fertiliser will decrease, the minister said and believed that there will not be much problem at this price.
According to the minister, the government has set the demand for fertiliser at 68.42 lakh tones for fiscal 2023-24.
There is a demand for 27 lakh tonnes of urea fertiliser and 16 lakh tonnes of DAP fertiliser in the fiscal year 2023-24, he added.
In addition, there is a demand for 7.5 lakh tonnes of TSP fertiliser and 9 lakh tonnes of MOP fertiliser, he noted.
According to a notice signed by Md Kamrul Islam Bhuiyan, information officer of the agriculture ministry, the current price of Urea, DAP, TSP and MOP fertilisers in the international market is Tk 48, Tk 70, Tk 50 and Tk 60 per kg respectively. This resulted in the government paying a subsidy of Tk 21 for Urea, Tk 49 for DAP, Tk 23 for TSP and Tk40 for MOP per kg even after the latest price hike.
The government subsidy in the sector has hiked for the fourth time after fertilizer prices were raised 3-4 times in the global market in the last three years, it said.
The amount of subsidy in the fiscal year 2020-21 was Tk7,420 crore which had increased to TK 28,000 crore in FY2021-22. In the current fiscal year, the government is required to pay around Tk 46,000 crore in subsidies for fertilisers.
Between FY2008-09 and FY2022-23, the government spent around Tk1,19,837 crore as fertiliser subsidies.
Meanwhile, the leaders of Bangladesh Krishak Sangram Samiti (BKSS) strongly condemned and protested the government’s decision for raising the price of chemical fertilisers by taka five per kg.
They also demanded of the government free supply of fertilisers with subsidy immediately.
The central President of Bangladesh Krishak Sangram Samity Hafizur Rahman and its General Secretary Shahjahan Kabir issued a joint statement on Tuesday demanding immediate withdrawal of the order and emphasis on providing fertilisers free of cost to farmers with subsidy.