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Rice to be cheaper by up to Tk 2.5/kg

Pinaki Roy
The reduction in fertiliser price will decrease the present production cost of rice byTk 2.5 a kilogram but the government has to take prompt actions for the farmers to reap the benefit of its move.
The government has sharply reduced the price of non-urea fertilisers but the rice price depends on many factors including its production, distribution of
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fertiliser and diesel price, said experts.
The price of TSP (triple super phosphate) has been rcuuced to Tk 40 from Tk 75-80 a kg, MoP (muriate of potash) to Tk 35 from Tk 69-70 and DAP (diammonium phosphate) to Tk 45 from Tk 87-90, Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury said yesterday.
Last year, the average production cost of paddy was around Tk 11 a kg while the price of Urea was Tk 7, TSP Tk 40. MoP Tk 35 and DAP Tk 45 a kg
During the previous Boro season, the diesel price was Tk 40 per litre, which now stands at Tk 44 a litre. So the costs of } agricultural inputs have not become cheaper than the last year's despite the new government's positive move, experts said.
Economist Zaid Bakht, research director of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), said the government move would have a positive impact on rice price.
"The production cost is going to come down," he said, adding that the production will also increase because of equal distribution of fertilisers.
The government has reduced tne price of non-urea fertiliser, which was out of the reach of the farmers who had been using only urea fertiliser.
’Now it will help increase the production." he said.
Zaid Bakht also said the subsidy will not affect the budget which already has an allocation for the subsidy.
Dr Mahbub Hossain, the executive director of Brae, said the production cost of rice would decrease eight to 10 percent following the government move.
The farmers had stopped buying non-urea fertilisers after their prices shot up sharply. Now the farmers will be able to buy those again.
"The government has to take prompt actions for the
fanners to reap the benefits as soon as possible," he said.
Mahoub Hossain also said the government would be able to implement its decision comfortably as fertilisers prices have decreased on the international market.
"Many farmers will use compost fertiliser instead of non-urea fertiliser," he added.
Research Director of Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Dr Uttam Deb said fertiliser prices on the international market doubled just after the last Boro season. But their prices started falling in November last year.
It is a proper government step for agricultural development, he said, adding, "If the government had not reduced the fertiliser prices, the production cost of rice would increase by over Tk 2.5 a kilogram," he added.
The experts said the government has to ensure supply of electricity in rural areas for running irrigation pumps in order to reduce the production cost further. Around 80 fiercent of total cultivable ands are under irrigation schemes.
A diesel-run pump now costs Tk 5,000 to irrigate an acre of land while an electricity-run one costs Tk2,000.
At present, the government can meet one-fifth of the total electricity demand for irriga-