Govt to set up a urea fertilizer factory in Narsingdi

FT ONLINE

Industries minister Amir Hossain Amu on Saturday said measurers have been taken to set up a urea fertilizer factory in Narsingdi as attaining self-sufficiency in fertilizer production is a priority target of the present government.

"A modern and energy-efficient fertilizer factory-'Ghorashal-Palash Urea Fertilizer Factory'- will be set up in Palash of Narsingdi to increase the fertilizer production," Amu told the 24th Annual General Meeting of Bangladesh Fertilizer Association (BFA).

He said the government has already set up Shahjalal Fertilizer Factory in Fenchuganj of Sylhet at a cost of Tk 4,847.45 crore, which is producing 500,000 tonnes of fertilizer annually.

The present agriculture-friendly government is giving huge subsidy for fertilizer sector, he said, adding that subsidy amounting to Tk 3,479 crore was given in fiscal year 2016-17. The government will continue to give such subsidy for boosting agricultural production, he added.

BFA chairman Kamrul Ashraf Khan Poton presided over the meeting while senior secretary of the agricultural ministry Mohammad Moinuddin Abdullah, president of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Md Shafiul Islam, director general of the Fertilizer Association of India Satish Chandar and BFA vice-chairman Md Momen Sarkar, among others, attended it.

During the meeting, BFA leaders demanded measures for distribution of all types of fertilizer, including non-urea, through BCIC dealers, saying that BFA dealers have been distributing fertilizers at farmer level properly since 1995.