The attention of the Ministry of Agriculture has been drawn to certain posts and reports recently published on different social media platforms, online news portals, and daily newspapers with headlines such as “Innovative Initiative for Embezzlement of Public Funds in the Ministry of Agriculture” or “Unprecedented Allegations of Corruption in Fertilizer Import.” The Ministry has observed that the opinions and contents of these reports are baseless, fabricated, ill-motivated, and filled with misinformation. The Ministry considers these posts/reports to be conspiratorial propaganda and strongly protests against them.

The Ministry of Agriculture imports non-urea fertilizers both under state-to-state (G-to-G) agreements and through private importers. According to Circular Article 8(g) issued in 2015 regarding non-urea fertilizer import, sale, and subsidy distribution/provision:

“Among the submitted applications quoting total price, private importers will be nominated for subsidy inclusion in order of lowest price. To verify price rationality, the contemporary prices of fertilizers imported by BADC, and the published price lists of international bulletins Argus (Argus FMB) and Ferticon (FERTECON) will be taken into account. The authority’s decision in this regard shall be considered final.”

Following this procedure, non-urea fertilizer imports are conducted. In every tender step, a single importing company is allowed to submit bids for a maximum quantity (up to 30,000 MT) of fertilizer. Since government demand for fertilizer is much higher than this ceiling, opportunities often arose where, for the same fertilizer from the same country, besides the lowest bidder, second, third, etc. bidders could supply at prices ranging from USD 20 to USD 150 (or even higher) per MT above the lowest bid. This resulted in huge losses for the government and wastage of valuable foreign currency.

After assuming responsibility for governing the country, the present interim government decided that for a particular fertilizer from a specific country, procurement orders would only be given to those companies that agreed to supply at the lowest offered price among all bids. This decision was implemented from the last fiscal year, resulting in significant government savings and closure of avenues for excessive profits by importers.

In the fertilizer import process, the country-based bid prices submitted by importers include per-ton market price along with vessel freight, discharge costs, local transportation, and other expenses. Since no single country can supply the entire demand at once, and to ensure uninterrupted fertilizer supply in due time, the government has long been permitting import of the same fertilizer from multiple countries. Due to location and distance, shipping costs vary, and consequently, the CFR price of the same fertilizer differs between countries at the same time. There is no scope for confusion in this regard. BADC, under state-to-state agreements, has also been importing fertilizers under this system for many years.

Excluding freight, the per-ton FOB price and including freight, the per-ton CFR price of fertilizers are determined globally based on the most recent price lists published in two widely circulated weekly bulletins—Argus and Fertecon. For many years, Bangladesh and fertilizer-producing countries have been determining fertilizer prices mainly on the basis of the region/country-specific prices published in these bulletins. Without proper understanding of this matter, publishing reports or posts based on false information supplied by vested quarters on such a sensitive issue related to national food security creates unnecessary confusion. Responsible reporting could have avoided this situation.

It is pertinent to note that, in the current fiscal year, some importers quoted prices USD 25 to USD 150 (or more) per MT higher than the government’s official estimated price. In order to protect public interest and reduce expenditure, the Ministry of Agriculture naturally did not accept such inflated bids. Instead, all importers were offered the opportunity to supply fertilizers at the officially estimated country-based prices. The Ministry issued work orders based on whichever was lower between the officially estimated price or the lowest bid price.

Accordingly, on 19 August 2025, 13 companies that accepted the government’s proposal were issued work orders to supply 30,000 MT of TSP, 255,000 MT of DAP, and 90,000 MT of MOP. Later, on 3 September 2025, six companies (two with country adjustments as per their applications) were issued work orders in the second phase to supply 90,000 MT of TSP and 120,000 MT of DAP at the same government price. Verification of these work orders will clearly show that for any specific fertilizer from a given country, all importers were ordered to supply only at a single uniform price, not at different prices.

As already noted, due to differences in production capacity and distances, the CFR prices of fertilizers vary internationally across countries. Any knowledgeable person—or even anyone checking the international bulletins—would recognize this. The Ministry of Agriculture has correctly and precisely determined fertilizer prices country-wise and followed them accordingly. For each type of fertilizer in each country, only one price was set, which was applicable to all importers—without any bias or favoritism.

Because the present government’s transparent and firm measures have prevented syndicates from forcing the government to buy fertilizers at higher prices as before, certain vested interests have resorted to propaganda against the Ministry. Posting on social media and publishing reports without verifying facts is deeply regrettable and unacceptable.

Upholding the spirit and values of the July Uprising, the present government is working to build a discrimination-free and corruption-free country, with the Ministry of Agriculture as a key partner standing firmly against all irregularities and corruption. The Ministry welcomes constructive criticism for greater transparency.

In the past year, the government has achieved significant success in the agricultural sector, earning public praise. Bumper harvests of vegetables, potatoes, onions, paddy, mangoes, and other crops were achieved, made possible in part by ensuring uninterrupted fertilizer supply even during difficult times.

Therefore, to protect agriculture, farmers, and above all the nation’s food security, the Ministry of Agriculture urges all concerned to verify facts before publishing any news or posts regarding the Ministry’s activities and decisions.