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Fertiliser dealers for 'optional delivery''

By Reaz Ahmad
The Bangladesh Fertiliser Association (BFA) has urged the government to allow fertiliser dealers "optional delivery" of urea till the advent of the peak season for fertiliser use in Jan usry, enabling them to over come a "cash crisis
Fertiliser lifted by dealers earlier remained unsold and if they are to lift more fertiliser as per the dealership contract, they will be out of business due to cash crisis. BFA chairman Kaflluddtn Ahmed told this correspondent yesterday They
have reached a position that they can no more abide by the contract rule.' he said.
As per the contract, a dealer loses his dealership as well as the security money of Tk two lakh If he fails to lift the, allot ted fertiliser for two consecutive months.
The BFA represents 3.800 fertiliser dealers across the country Already, some 400 dealers have surrendered their dealership in the last couple of months, he said. Some 125 BFA members from 64 districts held a day-long meeting In the capital Monday to take stock of the situation.
The demand for urea at farmers level has fallen due to Its high price compared to the low price of agricultural products. he said.
Explaining this. BFA executive secretary Abdul Baten said, "against the projected demand of 6.61.000 MT urea during the first quarter of the current financial year, we could lift only 4.40,000 MT urea till mid-Octo-ber. Again. 1.25.000 MT urea remained unsold."
Meanwhile, the initial high-projection of 25 lakh MT urea demand for fiscal 1997-98 has been lowered to 21 lakh MT on the basis of consumption trend during the first three months of the fiscal.
The decision to lower the projection was taken at an inter ministerial advisory* committee meeting on fertiliser on Sunday.
After revision of the demand. government is also expected to review the initial import target of five lakh MT of urea. So far. two and a half lakh tonnes have been imported. No fresh import would be required provided all the six urea fertiliser factories run by Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) maintain uninterrupted production.
According to officials, fertiliser market in the country in now steady and the price is under control due to some steps including prevention of smuggling.
Sources in the ministries concerned said, discipline has been brought in fertiliser mar-
ketlng and smuggling of the item has been stopped. Transportation of urea from one command area to the other has also been stopped.
Two issues, surrender of dealership and unseen expenditures'. dominated Monday's meeting of the BFA.
Both Kafiluddin and Baten explained that unseen expenditures' like tolls collection by political elements cost a dealer much and "this issue has to be addressed by monitoring committees in each district." But. they complained, the district monitoring committees were not active enough to redress problems faced by the dealers
Official sources, however, said Sunday s meeting decided to further activate the district monitoring committees.
BFA plans to hold Its annual general meeting on Decemlx-r 3 and hoped the problems they are facing now would l>e solved before the January-March peak season of fertiliser use by farmers.