Govt to import 7 lakh tonnes of urea amid production halt: Minister
The move comes as urea production at five state-owned and one private fertiliser factories has remained suspended since March due to a gas shortage.
The government has taken initiatives to import a total of seven lakh tonnes of urea fertiliser to address supply shortages caused by a halt in domestic production, Industries Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir told parliament today (19 April).
In a written response to a question from lawmaker Shahjahan Chowdhury, the minister said the imports include 2,00,000 tonnes from SABIC and 1,00,000 tonnes from Fertiglobe under government-to-government (G2G) agreements.
"An additional 4,00,000 tonnes will be procured through international quotations," he added.
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The move comes as urea production at five state-owned and one private fertiliser factories has remained suspended since March due to a gas shortage. Currently, only the Ghorashal-Polash Fertiliser Public Limited Company is operational.
The minister further said production at the Shahjalal Fertiliser Company is expected to resume from 1 May, following assurances from the energy ministry regarding gas supply.
Muktadir also informed that to ensure continued production of TSP and DAP fertilisers, the government has also initiated steps to import key raw materials such as rock phosphate, phosphoric acid and sulphur.
"These will be sourced through tenders and G2G agreements from countries including Morocco, Jordan, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, China and Malaysia," he said.
