The Bangladesh Fertilizer Association (BFA) has issued a stern warning that irregularities in fertiliser supply at farm level, artificial shortages and overcharging will not be tolerated. In a press statement on Thursday (10 September) the dealers' body reiterated that dealers and retailers must act responsibly to ensure farmers can buy fertiliser at the government-fixed price.

The statement, signed by BFA chairman Md Mosharraf Hossain, said that although the country holds adequate stocks, attempts by dishonest and unorganised traders to create an artificial crisis — and attempts to manufacture a shortage by looting dealers' warehouses in several northern districts — are wholly unacceptable.

Dealers were instructed to lift their allocations of urea and non-urea fertiliser from BADC, BCIC and the private sector on schedule, store them in their own registered warehouses and sell to farmers at the official price. Arrival notices for fertiliser lifted must be filed with the upazila agriculture officer and sent to the central BFA by WhatsApp, and stock and sales records kept in a register. BFA leaders at district and upazila level will monitor dealers' sales.

If any dealer, retailer or anyone else sells above the fixed price or acts outside the policy, the statement said, the local administration may take legal action including cancellation of the dealership, and the central BFA will not intervene on their behalf. Dealers facing problems in lifting or distributing fertiliser were asked to contact the association's central fertiliser monitoring cell at once.

The warning comes in the middle of the Aman season, with farmers in Kurigram, Faridpur and other districts complaining they cannot buy fertiliser at the official price and staging protests, and with the government having set up monitoring cells in all 64 districts and a control room at the Ministry of Agriculture.

Based on an NTV Online report. Source: NTV