Farmers in some places have complained about shortages in the supply of fertilizers, a situation that is compelling them to purchase fertilizers at higher than official fixed prices.
Market stakeholders have blamed inadequate local manufacturing and imports of fertilizers, and failure to distribute fertilizers in proportion to the demand in each region. Regulators have still ruled out any possibility of a shortage of fertilizers, insisting that the shortfall is artificial.
According to many farmers and fertilizer traders in the Sherpur-Jamalpur region, increasing crop intensity and cultivation of new crops such as banana and vegetables round the year have increased the demand for chemical fertilizers.
“There is no fallow land these days as farmers sow seeds or plant seedlings on their land around the year. That’s why we see additional demand for fertilizers. However, it is not supplied accordingly. Urea, TSP (triple super phosphate), and MOP (muriate of potash) are more or less available, but there is a crisis of DAP (diammonium phosphate),” Zakir Hossain, 40, a trader styled dealer of fertilizers and pesticides, observed.
He has a license from Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) and Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC),
He cited an example that in his area of Gosaipur union, only 12.20 tonnes of DAP fertilizer was allotted recently, against an estimated demand of 30 tonnes for 19,000 farmers living there. “I can deliver one bag (50 kilograms) when a farmer demands five times,” he added.
BCIC issues licences for the distribution of both locally produced and imported fertilizers, and BADC does the same job to provide input supports to farmers, often at subsidised rates.
A listed dealer, Samiul Haque, 42, of Sribordi Poshchim Bazar, said there are signs of a shortage of fertilizers, especially of DAP. “We receive an allotment of 20 tonnes when the requirement is 100 tons. When dealers sell each bag of fertilizer at Tk1,050, the farmers have to buy it at a higher price from the retailers,” he pointed out.
Far from meeting the demand
Jobon Krishna Roy, a dealer who has been running the business at Hajipur Bazar in neighbouring Jamalpur district town for three decades, mentioned that the amount of fertilizers they receive is far from meeting the demand of the area. So he has to collect fertilizers from districts where demand is lower at this point in time.
“We’ve collected each bag of urea at a cost of Tk1,450 and DAP at Tk1,560 per bag from Chittagong. I will make a profit of Tk20-25 per bag, and the retailers will sell them at the prices they will find profitable,” he told this author.
A farmer of Bharera Bazar in Sherpur, Sabuj Miah, 28, complained that he managed to purchase one-fifth of the fertilizers he needed at officially fixed rates. “We have to spend Tk1,650 for buying a bag of fertilizer, which is sold by dealers for Tk1,050. We’re concerned about the situation during the peak cultivation season in November and December,” he said.
Mojibur Rahman, 60, a farmer of Diar Char in Sribordi, recalled that the local godowns and shops were full of fertilizers earlier, but are now almost empty. “I have been able to buy one bag at the official rate when I need five bags of fertilizer. I have to spend an additional amount of Tk200 to 250 for each bag of urea and Tk400 to 500 for each bag of DAP. We have to cultivate, no matter what the price of fertilizer is,” said the farmer who owns four acres of land.
Shamsul Haque, 70, a farmer of Paboi village in Jamalpur Sadar, said: “Dealers cannot give us fertilizers as per demand. We cannot get Jamuna Company’s fertilizer, and sometimes we don’t get the fertilizer we need.”
President of trade body Bangladesh Fertilizer Association Waliur Rahman said that the government is yet to disburse outstanding amounts to private fertilizer importers.
“That’s why they cannot import fertilizers, and the two government agencies, BCIC and BADC, cannot allot adequate volumes of fertilizers to the dealers. Also, some dealers who were appointed during the previous regime have fled, and their associates are not regularly selling fertilizers,” the business leader explained.
When contacted, Agriculture Secretary Dr Mohammad Emdad Ullah Miah denied complaints of any shortage of fertilizers. “There is an attempt to create fear of a fertilizer shortage. A section of dealers is also taking advantage of the situation and selling fertilizers at higher prices. However, in case of malpractice, the license of the culprits will be cancelled,” he added.
