Fertiliser production in Chattogram is facing fresh disruption as Karnaphuli Fertilizer Company Limited (KAFCO) has halted production again, while state-owned Chittagong Urea Fertilizer Limited (CUFL) and DAP Fertilizer Company Limited remain out of production.

KAFCO, a multinational fertiliser plant in Anwara, stopped production at around 11am on Monday, only about four months after resuming operations following a prolonged gas shortage.

Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Limited (KGDCL) said gas supplies to KAFCO were reduced from around 50 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) to 5.5 mmcfd from Monday following government instructions.

However, KAFCO authorities said the production shutdown was primarily due to scheduled major maintenance rather than the reduction in gas supply.

KAFCO Chief of Personnel Faruk Ahmed said the plant undergoes a major overhaul every three years, typically requiring one to one-and-a-half months.

Once maintenance and necessary tuning are completed, the plant will resume full-scale production, he said.

KAFCO resumed gas supply on May 1 after remaining shut for nearly two months due to a gas shortage and restarted production on May 2. At that time, it was producing around 1,800 tonnes of urea per day.

The plant currently has the capacity to produce around 1,500-1,800 tonnes of urea and 1,500 tonnes of ammonia daily, requiring approximately 32-50 mmcfd of gas for normal operations.

KAFCO’s shutdown could also affect DAP Fertilizer Company Limited, which depends on ammonia supplied by KAFCO for its production.

State-owned CUFL, located near KAFCO, has also remained out of production for more than five months.

The plant stopped production on March 4 due to the gas crisis. Although gas supply resumed on August 25, the plant had yet to restart production as of Tuesday.

CUFL officials said gas shortages and mechanical problems have repeatedly disrupted production. The plant requires around 48-52 mmcfd of gas per day to operate at full capacity and previously had the capacity to produce around 1,700 tonnes of urea daily.

The plant has experienced repeated shutdowns in recent years. It operated for only five days during FY2023-24 and has faced several prolonged closures due to gas shortages and mechanical problems.

The state-owned DAP Fertilizer Company Limited at Rangadia in Anwara has also remained shut since June 28 due to a shortage of imported phosphoric acid.

The plant initially stopped production on April 18 after its remaining stock of ammonia was exhausted. It resumed production on May 8 after receiving ammonia from KAFCO.

However, production was halted again on June 28 because of a supply shortage of phosphoric acid imported from Jordan.

The plant requires around 600 tonnes of phosphoric acid daily and has storage capacity for up to 20,000 tonnes. Production cannot resume until the supply situation improves, authorities said.

The two units of DAP Fertilizer Company have a combined production capacity of 1,600 tonnes of DAP fertiliser per day.

Repeated disruptions at KAFCO, CUFL and DAP Fertilizer Company are putting additional pressure on domestic fertiliser supplies and increasing dependence on imports.

The country’s urea demand is estimated at around 2.62 million tonnes in FY2026-27. Of this, state-owned Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) plants are expected to supply around 1 million tonnes, while the remaining roughly 1.6 million tonnes may need to be imported, according to relevant sources.

Industry insiders warned that prolonged shutdowns of major domestic fertiliser plants could further increase import dependence and put additional pressure on fertiliser supplies ahead of the upcoming agricultural season.

They stressed the need to complete KAFCO’s scheduled overhaul quickly and ensure adequate gas and raw-material supplies to CUFL and DAP Fertilizer Company to prevent further disruption.