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Fertiliser imports spiral as factories remain shut

Suman Saha
The government's plan to keep the fertiliser factories shut to save gas somewhat backfired as it had to import 20 lakh tonne of fertilisers last fiscal year.
The closure of fertiliser factories for such an extended period is also compounding the wear-and-tear of the expensive equipment.
In fiscal 2011-12, the country's urea fertiliser plants incurred a production loss of 7.69 lakh tonnes due to shortage of gas supply, according data from Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC).
The country needs 214 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) gas to run the fertiliser units at full capacity, but it gets 64 mmcfd gas, compelling five of the six fertiliser plants to remain shut for different lengths during last fiscal year.
Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Ltd stayed shut the longest, for 273 days, followed by Ashuganj Fertiliser & Chemical Company Ltd, which was closed for 113 days, and Urea Fertiliser Factory Ltd, for 101 days.
Jamuna Fertiliser Company Ltd for 73 days and Polash Urea Fertiliser Factory Ltd for 96 days were the other notable shutdowns.
Currently, the government has withdrawn gas supplies from four factories, causing a production deficit of 4,200 tonnes of urea a day.
The six state-owned factories produced 9.33 lakh tonnes of fertiliser last fiscal year, way short of the target of 11.20 lakh tonne.
To make up the deficit, as per BCIC data, the government had to import over 20 lakh tonne fertilisers during that period, exhausting the country's precious foreign currency reserve.
In acknowledgement of the production deficit, Industries Minister Dilip Barua said the government would supply gas on a priority basis.
“Since power generation is one of government’s top priorities, it had to divert the gas for power generation when it did,” Barua said. He, however, pledged to resume operation in at least two closed factories after Eid-ul-Fitr.
The country's fertiliser requirement for the current fiscal year is estimated to be 25 lakh tonnes, Barua said.
Of this, BCIC's factories will produce 10 lakh tonnes, while the remaining 15 lakh tonnes will be sourced as follows: 4 lakh tonne from KAFCO, 9 lakh tonnes from state-to-state deals and 2 lakh tonnes to be imported through international tenders.