Govt to import soybean oil, fertiliser to increase supply

The government will import fertiliser to increase supply in the market as production has been disrupted in the country’s fertiliser factories due to gas shortage.

Besides, the government will import soybean oil also to keep the price of the essential commodity under control.

In this regard, the five purchase proposals made by the commerce, industries and agriculture ministries will be placed at the consecutive virtual meetings of the two cabinet committees — the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal will preside over the meetings. According to ministry sources, the commerce ministry has proposed to import 33,000 tonnes of soybean oil through the direct procurement method. If the proposal is approved, the imported oil will be sold at Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) outlets at an affordable price.

In the current 2022-23 fiscal year, the government will buy 30,000 metric tonnes of urea fertiliser from Karnaphuli Fertiliser Company Limited (KAFCO) through local import. Besides, the industries ministry has made a purchase proposal for importing 30,000 tonnes of urea fertiliser from SABIC Agri-nutrients Company of Saudi Arabia through a government-to-government (G2G) contract.

Apart from this, the agriculture ministry will place a proposal at the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs seeking in-principle approval for the import of muriate of potash (MOP) fertiliser through the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) under the direct procurement method. Besides, the industries ministry has proposed for in-principle approval to sign a G2G contract to import urea fertiliser from Fertiglobe Distribution Ltd in the current financial year.

Mentionable, production has been disrupted in the country’s fertiliser factories due to gas shortage. Among the fertiliser factories under Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation, some factories are producing but most of them are closed. In this situation, to meet the demand for fertiliser, the industries ministry has proposed to import fertiliser to increase the supply in the market.