Farmers burdened with high fertiliser prices

It is most unfortunate that farmers across Bangladesh are being charged exorbitantly for fertilisers by the dealers and retailers, despite the government's claim that there is no crisis of fertilisers in the country. According to a report in this daily on December 19, while a 50kg sack of Triple Super Phosphate (TSP) should sell for Tk 1,100, Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) for Tk 800, and Muriate of Potash (MOP) for Tk 750, as per the government fixed rates, these fertilisers are currently being sold at much higher prices: TSP at Tk 1,400-1,700, DAP at Tk 950-1,050, and MOP at Tk 950-1,000. Only urea, the most widely used fertiliser, is being sold at the government-fixed rate: Tk 800.

While the government keeps saying that there are enough stocks of all these fertilisers in the country, and that a section of unscrupulous dealers and retailers are charging extra citing hiked prices in the international market, the dealers are saying otherwise—that the government's allotments are not enough to meet the local demand, so they have had to import the fertilisers at higher prices.

The authorities may be correct in saying that there are sufficient supplies of fertilisers, but it is also true that farmers are not being able to buy them at the proper rates. And in many cases, there are no supplies in the local markets. According to our report, a farmer in Dinajpur Sadar's Gopalganj Hat area went to the market to buy MOP two weeks ago, but could not due to its unavailability. Clearly, there is a serious lack of market monitoring by the authorities concerned.

In order to ensure a stable supply of fertilisers in the local markets, and to stop unscrupulous businessmen from cashing in on the situation, the authorities must have a strong mechanism to monitor the situation on the ground. Only claiming to have enough supplies will not help the farmers in any way. They are already burdened with high production costs following the fuel price hikes, and the high prices of fertilisers are just too much for them to bear. While regular mobile court drives may be helpful in checking any malpractices by fertiliser dealers and retailers, the authorities must also make sure that the supply chain is not disrupted in any way, which might create a crisis in the market.