The Agriculture Ministry has dismissed as “complete rumor” reports circulating nationwide about a fertilizer shortage. The administration has launched a sweeping crackdown on unscrupulous traders accused of creating an artificial shortage at the field level for profit and to embarrass the government. Multiple dealers and traders have already been fined and had large quantities of fertilizer seized in Manikganj, Chapainawabganj, Rangpur and Jashore over adulterated fertilizer sales, overcharging and illegal hoarding.
The fines and penalties against the traders involved were handed out from last Monday through Thursday.
Agriculture Ministry Additional Secretary Ahmed Faysal Imam said the fertilizer shortage reports are entirely false and amount to rumor-mongering, aimed at creating panic among ordinary farmers and embarrassing the government. He said 64 ministry officials are regularly monitoring the situation on the ground, one for each of the country’s 64 districts.
On dishonest dealers, he said mobile courts are regularly deployed whenever complaints of overcharging or black-marketeering are received. Dealership licenses are being suspended or revoked depending on the severity of the offense, as an ongoing process. However, he said, despite this monitoring, various irregularities and procedural lapses by some dealers and retailers continue to surface at the field level.
Rangpur Department of Agricultural Extension Deputy Director Sirajul Islam said many dealers are being fined for failing to store fertilizer in warehouses according to government rules and for procedural violations. He said further details of fines and penalties in his region would be confirmed later.
Meanwhile, local farmers caught BADC fertilizer dealer Chhanoar Hossain red-handed mixing soil into DAP fertilizer and selling it as adulterated at Janna Bazar in Saturia upazila. On Thursday, a mobile court led by Saturia Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) and Executive Magistrate Kazi Mohammad Anik Islam fined the trader 200,000 taka and seized 5 sacks of adulterated fertilizer under Section 17 of the Fertilizer Management Act, 2006.
In Chapainawabganj Sadar upazila’s Jhilim union, Hosaindanga area, Nur Islam, owner of Messrs Islam Traders, was fined 100,000 taka for selling fertilizer above the government-set price and illegally hoarding 259 sacks of urea, 106 sacks of DAP and 45 sacks of TSP fertilizer. The incident occurred last Monday. The seized fertilizer was later ordered to be sold to farmers at the government-set price.
In Chougachha municipal town’s Parbazar, a mobile court fined trader Khairul Islam 20,000 taka last Wednesday for illegally hoarding 271 sacks (13,550 kilograms) of fertilizer worth 353,350 taka without a license or valid documentation. The fine was collected under Sections 12 and 18 of the Fertilizer Management Act, 2006, and the seized fertilizer was ordered sold to farmers at a fair price, with the proceeds deposited into the government treasury. Earlier, a driver caught transporting another 37 sacks of fertilizer being smuggled out of Chougachha was fined 2,000 taka after the fertilizer was sold at the government price.
The Agriculture Ministry says there is no genuine fertilizer shortage anywhere in the country, and that the supply situation is being regularly monitored. However, wherever complaints of field-level irregularities are received, action is taken through joint operations by the administration and the agriculture department.
The government maintains that fertilizer stocks and supply are adequate. But with cases of overcharging, illegal hoarding and adulterated fertilizer reported in various districts, stronger monitoring is needed to ensure farmers actually have access to fertilizer at the set price, even where overall supply is sufficient. With administrative operations ongoing, whether farmers are getting fertilizer on time and at the set price remains the most pressing question at the field level.
However, even as officials maintain there is no shortage, a gap has emerged in safety stock levels. According to an August 22 report, the safety stock for urea should be 500,000 tonnes; the actual stock stands at 400,962 tonnes — a shortfall of 99,000 tonnes. Similarly, the safety stock for TSP should be 400,000 tonnes, but only 300,373 tonnes is in stock — a shortfall of roughly 99,500 tonnes. For DAP, the safety stock should be 500,000 tonnes, but only 300,277 tonnes is in stock — a shortfall of 200,000 tonnes here as well. Finally, the safety stock for MOP should be 300,000 tonnes, but only 100,484 tonnes is in stock — also a shortfall of nearly 200,000 tonnes.
A review of this Agriculture Ministry data shows that fertilizer safety stocks have declined significantly because of the gas crisis. This is an issue the relevant authorities need to take seriously as well.