Agriculture Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque said on Wednesday that his ministry is trying to find alternative sources from where the much-needed Urea fertilizer can be purchased.

Razzaque said this after a meeting with Switzerland’s Ambassador to Bangladesh Nathalie Chuard at the Secretariat.

“It’s unfortunate that local production of urea fertilizer has stopped due to gas shortage. But we’ve already taken some steps to collect urea from alternative sources no matter how much it’ll cost,” said Razzaque.

The minister added that they are not thinking about any urea crisis yet as the fertilizer is produced by many countries.

“We’re trying to make both Jamuna Fertilizer Company Limited and Chittagong Urea Fertilizer Limited operational. The government has to provide gas to activate these two factories,” Razzaque added.

Razzaque also said that there is enough stock of fertilizer in the country for the upcoming Boro season.

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Mentioning that the price of locally-produced urea fertilizer is Tk 19 per kilogram, the Minister said that the price of urea fertilizer is Tk 70 to Tk 80 per kg globally.

“We’re still providing urea to the farmers at Tk 16 per Kg. No other country can provide urea at this rate, not even India,” said Razzaque.