The government has formed a high-level committee to assess the demand and pricing of natural gas for four currently gas-starved fertilizer factories under the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC), with the aim of bringing them back into operation. The plants have remained shut due to a prolonged gas crisis.
According to an official order issued by the Energy and Mineral Resources Division (EMRD), the committee will carry out both technical and financial assessments to determine the gas supply mechanism and an appropriate pricing structure for these plants.
Committee Composition
The committee will be headed by EMRD Joint Secretary Md. Monir Hossain Chowdhury as Convener, while Petrobangla Director (Finance) A.K.M. Mizanur Rahman will serve as Member Secretary. Other members include Finance Division Joint Secretary Mohammed Anisur Rahman, Agriculture Ministry Joint Secretary Md. Khorshed Alam, BCIC Chief Financial Officer Md. Golam Faruk, and Md. Kamruzzaaman, Senior Consultant under the State-Owned Enterprises Governance Scheme of the Finance Division.
Mandate and Objectives
The committee has been tasked with evaluating the historical gas supply to the fertilizer plants, assessing current fertilizer demand and BCIC’s production capacity, and determining the required level of subsidy for fertilizer production. It will also submit a comprehensive report analyzing the economic and operational factors related to the supply and pricing of urea at the four BCIC factories that are currently non-operational due to the gas shortage.
Fertilizer Import Trends
Bangladesh’s demand for urea fertilizer stood at 1.56 million tonnes in the last fiscal year, down from 1.748 million tonnes the year before. The government spent $598 million on urea imports in FY2024–25, compared to $643 million in FY2023–24. By June 2025, a total of 3.30 million tonnes of urea had been imported at a cost of $132 million.
For non-urea fertilizers, the government spent $1.04 billion during the last fiscal year. By June 2025, projected expenditure on TSP, DAP, and MOP fertilizers stood at $399.67 million, with an additional $69.28 million allocated for raw materials for TSP and DAP, according to official sources.
Looking ahead, the government projects importing 1.35 million tonnes of urea fertilizer in the current fiscal year at an estimated cost of $540 million, along with $171 million for raw materials for TSP and DAP.
Current Status of Fertilizer Plants
Currently, four fertilizer plants—Jamuna Fertilizer Factory, Ashuganj Fertilizer and Chemical Company Ltd (AFCCL), Chittagong Urea Fertilizer Ltd (CUFL), and Karnaphuli Fertilizer Company Ltd (KAFCO)—remain closed due to the unavailability of natural gas. The combined gas requirement for these plants is estimated at 212 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd).
The government has already reviewed and fixed the gas tariff for KAFCO at Tk 30 per cubic meter. The newly formed committee will now evaluate and propose appropriate gas tariffs for the remaining BCIC-operated fertilizer plants.