The amount of fertilizer subsidy of the government has jumped unusually in the current financial year of 2021-22, a rise of about Tk11,000 crore from the previous amount of about Tk8,000 crore in the last FY.
The government will have to pay a Tk28,000 crore subsidy for fertilizer this FY which got the government worried as to where to find this huge fund, Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque said.
The minister attributed this unusual amount of subsidy to the sharp rise of fertilizer prices in the international market as well as the transportation cost.
Of this amount, the government has already paid Tk19,000 crore as subsidy, the minister added.
“The government has paid Tk19,000 crore as fertilizer subsidy in the current fiscal year 2021-22. We will need Tk9,000 crore more by June this year for fertilizer subsidy,” Abdur Razzaque said this Saturday while speaking as the chief guest at a programme on the eve of observing National Food Safety Day 2022.
The programme titled ‘Government Measures in Ensuring Safe Food’ at a shadow parliament was organized at the BFDC in the city. The Debate for Democracy organized the programme.
Abdur Razzaque said that the government used to spend Tk8,000-Tk9,000 crore annually as a subsidy.
The agriculture ministry sources said the government has distributed Tk6,000 crore subsidy so far and the rest amount of Tk13,000 is under process.
In FY2020-21, the amount of fertilizer subsidy was Tk7700 crore.
Abdur Razzaque said the huge amount of subsidy in the fertilizer would hamper other development activities.
But the Prime Minister has instructed not to increase the price of fertilizer.
The agriculture ministry sources said that earlier the import cost per kg of urea was only Tk35 which has jumped to Tk75 now. Every year, Bangladesh needs 2.8 million tonnes of urea.
Of the total amount, only 1.1 million tonnes is produced locally and 1.4 million to 1.7 million tonnes are imported.
Besides, six million tonnes of other fertilizers including DAP, TSP and MOP are also required annually. This year the demand has been estimated at 6.6 million tonnes.
The government has reduced the price of all fertilizer varieties. The price of TSP has been reduced to TK22 from Tk80, DAP Tk16 from Tk90, MOP TK15 from Tk70 and Urea Tk16 from Tk20.