Rubber planters for uninterrupted fertiliser supply
FE Report | Tuesday, 1 July 2008
Rubber planters Monday urged the government to maintain uninterrupted fertiliser supply to their gardens in order to boost production.
The government has suspended subsidised fertiliser supply since May 25 saying the rubber cultivation does not fall under agriculture sector.
The government also asked the rubber planters to meet their fertiliser requirement through imports.
The leaders of Bangladesh Rubber Garden Owners Association (BRGOA) were addressing a press conference at the National Press Club Monday.
BRGOA secretary general SM Harun ur Rashid said that hundreds of rubber gardeners mainly located in Bandarban would face severe production losses due to the government measure.
"The production capacity will fall for lack of fertiliser. So, we urge the government to review the decision and continue fertiliser supply to our gardens," he added.
About the government advice for import of fertiliser, they said import of small amount will not be viable for them as they need only around 15000 tonnes of fertiliser annually.
Rubber gardens need around 6000 tonnes of triple super phosphate, 6000 muriate of potash and 3000 tonnes of urea.
"How will we import such a small quantity? asked BRGOA secretary general.
He also said the administration is not allowing them to procure their required fertiliser locally.
"We urge the local administration to allow us to procure fertiliser locally," he added.
There are around 1300 privately owned rubber gardens in Bandarban and other districts in the country and produce around 120,000 tonnes of rubber, which is almost equal to the local demand.
Apart from this, there are some 15 government owned rubber gardens in the country and their capacity is around 5,000 tonnes.
BRGOA senior vice president ABM Jafrul Alam, vice president AR Khan and joint secretary Nazmul Hasan Chowdhury were present at the press conference.
The government has suspended subsidised fertiliser supply since May 25 saying the rubber cultivation does not fall under agriculture sector.
The government also asked the rubber planters to meet their fertiliser requirement through imports.
The leaders of Bangladesh Rubber Garden Owners Association (BRGOA) were addressing a press conference at the National Press Club Monday.
BRGOA secretary general SM Harun ur Rashid said that hundreds of rubber gardeners mainly located in Bandarban would face severe production losses due to the government measure.
"The production capacity will fall for lack of fertiliser. So, we urge the government to review the decision and continue fertiliser supply to our gardens," he added.
About the government advice for import of fertiliser, they said import of small amount will not be viable for them as they need only around 15000 tonnes of fertiliser annually.
Rubber gardens need around 6000 tonnes of triple super phosphate, 6000 muriate of potash and 3000 tonnes of urea.
"How will we import such a small quantity? asked BRGOA secretary general.
He also said the administration is not allowing them to procure their required fertiliser locally.
"We urge the local administration to allow us to procure fertiliser locally," he added.
There are around 1300 privately owned rubber gardens in Bandarban and other districts in the country and produce around 120,000 tonnes of rubber, which is almost equal to the local demand.
Apart from this, there are some 15 government owned rubber gardens in the country and their capacity is around 5,000 tonnes.
BRGOA senior vice president ABM Jafrul Alam, vice president AR Khan and joint secretary Nazmul Hasan Chowdhury were present at the press conference.