400,000 tonnes of DAP to be imported annually from KSA

Bangladesh will import 400,000 tonnes of Di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) fertiliser annually from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) for the next two years, reports BSS.

An agreement in this regard was signed between Saudi state-owned company Ma'aden and Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) in Riyadh on December 15, says a press release of the agriculture ministry.

BADC Chairman M Ruhul Amin and a representative of Ma'aden, which is the fastest growing mining companies in the world, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective sides.

Agriculture Secretary Dr Mohammad Emdad Ullah Mian also was present.

Under the agreement, the company will supply 400,000 tonnes of DAP yearly and it will continue till 2026.

The Saudi company has agreed to supply the DAP fertiliser at a price at least two dollars less than the average market rate of US$ 745 per tonne.

The new commission comes in addition to a $4 price reduction as part of an earlier agreement, bringing the total price cut to $6 per tonne. The price reduction is expected to save nearly Tk 288 million annually on DAP fertiliser imports from Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi company has also agreed to impart training to the Bangladeshi farmers on optimum use of fertiliser and construct a fertiliser storehouse in Bangladesh.