Home ›› 22 Nov 2022 ›› Front
The Agriculture Ministry has recently predicted that the subsidy for fertiliser imports is likely to hike three times more, reaching to Tk46,247 crore due to additional shipping and transportation costs, high rate of foreign exchange, Russia-Ukraine war and global Covid-19 pandemic.
The Agriculture Ministry has sent a letter to the Finance Ministry seeking to increase the subsidy for fertiliser imports considering the predicted amount, according to the sources of the Agriculture Ministry.
In the current FY, the government has allocated Tk16,527 crore for subsidy and stimulus packages in the agriculture sector. But Agriculture Ministry’s data of October showed that the sector need around Tk46,247 crore subsidy due to spiraling costs of fertilisers which is Tk29,720 crore more from the allocated amount.
Amid such condition, the government will have to double the allocated subsidy for various reasons including high price of fertiliser, shipping costs, and foreign exchange.
In the FY 2020-21, price of fertiliser was stable in the international market which contributed for assisting the agriculture sector successfully with the government allocated subsidies.
Officials of the Finance Ministry said that compared to last year, Tk6,000 crore subsidy for fertilisers was increased in the proposed budget of this year. In the FY2020-21, subsidy budget for fertilisers was Tk9,501 crore but it stretched to Tk12,000 crore due to fertiliser price hike. Additional Tk16,000 crore were allocated for persistent price hike.
An official from the Finance Division said that, the government is trying to find a way to reduce the amount of subsidy as providing such a huge amount of subsidy sought by the Agriculture Ministry may violate the budget regulations.
On the contrary, prices of fertilisers won’t cool off, although the government fails to increase subsidy for imports, said the Agriculture Ministry.
According to the data of the Agriculture Ministry, the government will have to spend Tk56,052 crore for importing Urea, TSP, DAP, MOP and MAP fertilisers and sell them at only Tk9,805 crore which will post Tk46,247 as subsidy.
Meanwhile, in the last 13 years from 2008-09 to 2020-21, the government subsidized around Tk82,000 crore for this sector, reports the United News of Bangladesh.
The Agriculture Ministry has been encouraging farmers to use agricultural inputs including incentives in fertilizer and seeds to ensure food security.
