Govt okays 1,10,000MT fertiliser imports

The government has decided to import a total of 110,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser from Belarus, Morocco and Saudi Arabia to meet the country’s agricultural needs.

The consignment comprises 30,000 tonnes of muriate of potash (MOP), 40,000 tonnes of diammonium phosphate (DAP) and 40,000 tonnes of urea.

The import proposals were approved at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase held at the Secretariat on Wednesday. Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury chaired the meeting.

Following a proposal from the Ministry of Agriculture, the committee approved the import of 30,000 tonnes of MOP fertiliser from Belarus through private-sector company Sufla Trading Corporation.

The price of MOP was fixed at $398.97 per tonne. The total purchase price was set at approximately $11.97 million. At an exchange rate of Tk 122.92 per US dollar, the cost of the fertiliser stands at around Tk 147.20 crore.

In another proposal from the Ministry of Agriculture, the committee approved the import of 40,000 metric tonnes of DAP fertiliser from Morocco under a government-to-government (G2G) arrangement.

The import will be made under an agreement signed between Morocco’s OCP Nutricrops S.A. and the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC).

The price of DAP was fixed at $889.33 per tonne. The total cost of the consignment will amount to Tk 439.86 crore.

Meanwhile, the committee also approved a proposal from the Ministry of Industries to import 40,000 tonnes of bulk granular urea from Saudi Arabia’s SABIC Agri-Nutrients Company for the 2026-27 fiscal year.

The price of urea was fixed at $391.66 per tonne, bringing the total purchase cost to Tk 193.71 crore.
Thus, the government will procure 110,000 tonnes of fertiliser in total from the three countries, comprising 30,000 tonnes of MOP, 40,000 tonnes of DAP and 40,000 tonnes of urea.