Govt to buy 70,000 tonnes of fertiliser for current Aman season

The government is set to purchase an additional 70,000 tonnes of various types of fertilisers to meet demand for the ongoing Aman season.

In today’s meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase, a proposal to buy 40,000 tonnes of DAP (di-ammonium phosphate) fertiliser from Morocco was approved. The price per tonne is $894, bringing the total cost to approximately Tk 441 crore.

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The price of DAP fertiliser has been gradually rising. According to the World Bank’s Commodity Markets Outlook, the average price in July was $781 per tonne. On the other hand, the government committee approved a proposal on August 24 to purchase it at $891 per tonne.

Additionally, a proposal to buy another 30,000 tonnes of TSP (triple superphosphate) fertiliser from Morocco was approved today. This will cost Tk 247.79 crore, with the price per tonne set at $669.33.

However, while the price of DAP fertiliser has risen in the international market, the price of TSP has been declining. According to the World Bank’s Commodity Markets Outlook, the average price of TSP in July was $719 per tonne.

The government has significantly increased fertiliser imports to meet overall demand for the current Aman and Boro seasons.

To avert any shortage, the government has approved imports of 4.8 lakh tonnes of various fertilisers over the past two weeks of August.

The Aman season runs from July to October and Boro from October to April. Together, they account for more than 90 percent of national rice production and require over 43 lakh tonnes of chemical fertiliser.

Bangladesh uses about 66 lakh tonnes of fertiliser a year, with rice cultivation accounting for roughly 75 percent of the total.

More than 85 percent of the country’s fertiliser requirements are met through imports, leaving it exposed to global supply disruptions.