Govt forms monitoring bodies to expedite import of fertilizer
Tuesday, 25 August 2009
Doulot Akter Mala
To expedite import of fertiliser and its raw materials the government has formed monitoring committees in 11 entry points including air, land and sea ports ahead of the Boro season, an official said Monday.
The committees will speed up examination of samples to release imported fertiliser from these ports, he said.
These will be responsible to ensure hassle-free unloading of imported fertiliser at ports, he added.
The committees will monitor Zia International Airport, Chittagong sea port, Mongla sea port, Teknaf, Hili, Benapole, Sonamasjid, Akhaura, Darsana, Tamabil and Burimari land-ports.
The seven-member committees will have representatives from agriculture extension department, chemical expert of Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC), grain experts, customs officials, senior chemists from environment departments, importers and pre-shipment inspection company.
The government had formed these committees following complaints from traders of unusual delay in getting the imported fertiliser released.
Ministry of Agriculture recently issued a circular enforcing the decision under the Fertiliser Management Act-2007.
The committees will help the importers to import sufficient quantities of fertiliser before the Boro harvesting season that starts from December.
The actual demand of urea fertiliser in the upcoming Boro season is about 1.4 million tonnes, while the annual demand is around 2.8 million tonnes.
The country's six fertiliser factories cannot meet the local demand and delay in import further add to the crisis. These factories often fail to achieve production target due to gas crisis.
Ataur Rahman Khan, a leading fertiliser importer and owner of Trade Winner Limited, said: "We have suffered a lot due to delay in unloading fertiliser at the port."
Fertiliser importers cannot supply the essential agro-input to the farmers in time due to the unusual delay in releasing fertiliser from the ports, he said.
"Also, we have to pay higher interest against bank loans due to delay in the ports, he said.
Earlier, a meeting of the national purchase committee, chaired by AMA Muhith, approved the procurement of 2.5 lakh tonnes of urea fertiliser at a cost of Tk 4.93 billion. The price of urea per tonne is expected to range from $273 to $302.
To expedite import of fertiliser and its raw materials the government has formed monitoring committees in 11 entry points including air, land and sea ports ahead of the Boro season, an official said Monday.
The committees will speed up examination of samples to release imported fertiliser from these ports, he said.
These will be responsible to ensure hassle-free unloading of imported fertiliser at ports, he added.
The committees will monitor Zia International Airport, Chittagong sea port, Mongla sea port, Teknaf, Hili, Benapole, Sonamasjid, Akhaura, Darsana, Tamabil and Burimari land-ports.
The seven-member committees will have representatives from agriculture extension department, chemical expert of Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC), grain experts, customs officials, senior chemists from environment departments, importers and pre-shipment inspection company.
The government had formed these committees following complaints from traders of unusual delay in getting the imported fertiliser released.
Ministry of Agriculture recently issued a circular enforcing the decision under the Fertiliser Management Act-2007.
The committees will help the importers to import sufficient quantities of fertiliser before the Boro harvesting season that starts from December.
The actual demand of urea fertiliser in the upcoming Boro season is about 1.4 million tonnes, while the annual demand is around 2.8 million tonnes.
The country's six fertiliser factories cannot meet the local demand and delay in import further add to the crisis. These factories often fail to achieve production target due to gas crisis.
Ataur Rahman Khan, a leading fertiliser importer and owner of Trade Winner Limited, said: "We have suffered a lot due to delay in unloading fertiliser at the port."
Fertiliser importers cannot supply the essential agro-input to the farmers in time due to the unusual delay in releasing fertiliser from the ports, he said.
"Also, we have to pay higher interest against bank loans due to delay in the ports, he said.
Earlier, a meeting of the national purchase committee, chaired by AMA Muhith, approved the procurement of 2.5 lakh tonnes of urea fertiliser at a cost of Tk 4.93 billion. The price of urea per tonne is expected to range from $273 to $302.