‘No fertiliser shortage, stocks adequate’

Agriculture Minister Mohammed Aminur Rashid on Tuesday said Bangladesh has no fertiliser shortage and described the disorder surrounding its distribution, despite adequate stocks, as part of a planned conspiracy.

The government has more fertiliser in stock than it had at the same time last year, with some government warehouses lacking sufficient space to store the available supplies, Agriculture Minister Mohammed Aminur Rashid said.

“There is no problem with fertiliser. We have more fertiliser in stock than we had at the same time last year. In many places, government warehouses do not even have enough space to store the available fertiliser,” he said.

The minister made the remarks while speaking to reporters at a press briefing at the Secretariat on measures to improve airport facilities, including cold storage and cool-room facilities at the cargo village, to boost agricultural exports.

He said the government had introduced a new policy on fertiliser distribution and that those who believed they would be deprived under the new system were creating problems in different ways.
“The situation will gradually return to normal,” he said.

With sufficient fertiliser stocks available across the country, there was no reason to be concerned about any conspiracy, Aminur said.

Addressing those creating disorder over fertiliser distribution, he said, “This is not good. Please do not do this.”

The minister also outlined steps to improve infrastructure and storage facilities at airports to increase agricultural exports.

He said expanding cold storage and cool-room facilities at cargo villages would allow exporters to ship agricultural products more quickly while maintaining their quality.

The planned improvements are aimed at strengthening airport infrastructure and supporting the timely handling of agricultural products for overseas markets.