This year, the country will need Tk 28,000 crore for fertilizer subsidy, which is almost four times higher than that of last year and Tk 19,000 crore more is required for giving subsidy, said Agriculture Minister and Awami League presidium member Dr Md Abdur Razzque.
The agriculture minister disclosed this information while he was exchanging views with the journalists on the overall issues including stock, price and subsidy of fertilizer at the Secretariat on Monday. Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture Md Sayedul Islam, Additional Secretary Hasanuzzaman Kallol, Additional Secretary Balai Krishna Hajra were present, among others.
The minister said that due to the Covid-19 situation, the price of fertilizers has increased dramatically worldwide, which is almost three times as much as last year. Moreover, due to the increase in the price of fuel oil, the ship fare has increased more than double. The import cost of fertilizer per kg in FY 2020-21 was --- Urea Tk 32, TSP Tk 33, MOP Tk 23, DAP Tk 37, which increased to Tk 96, Tk 70, Tk 54 and Tk 93 in FY 2021-22 respectively. However, urea is being given to the farmers at Tk 16 per kg, TSP at Tk 22, MOP at Tk 15 and DAP at Tk 16.
As a result, the subsidy currently stands at Tk 82 per kg for urea, Tk 50 per kg for TSP, Tk 41 per kg for MOP and Tk 69 per kg for DAP, the minister said. In the current 2021-22 financial year, it will take Tk 28,000 crore to provide this huge amount of subsidy. In the last fiscal year 2020-21, the subsidy was Tk 7717 crore. This year's allocation for the subsidy sector is only Tk 9,500 crore. An additional Tk 19,000 crore is needed.
If necessary, the views of intellectuals, economists, civil society, media personnel and others concerned can be sought on reducing the amount of fertilizer subsidy or increasing the price of fertilizer, he said.
Highlighting the current stockpile and demand for fertilizers, the minister said that there is a demand of about 57.50 lakh tonnes of chemical fertilizers in the current 2021-22 financial year. Of this, urea 26 lakh tonnes, TSP 7lakh tonnes, MOP 7.5 lakh tonnes, and DAP 16.5 lakh tonnes. The country currently has adequate stocks of all types of fertilizers against the demand.
