Bangladesh has followed in the footsteps of India by securing a deal to import fertilizers from Russia, one of the world's leading producers of these essential agricultural inputs.
In an effort to meet its annual fertilizer demand of 750,000 tons, the Sheikh Hasina government has recently signed an agreement to import 180,000 tons of muriate of potash from Russia for the year 2023-24. The deal was finalized in Moscow between the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) and Russian Prodintorg.
Sources in Dhaka have indicated that the Western sanctions imposed on Russia have posed significant challenges for countries like Bangladesh, which heavily rely on imports of fertilizers and agricultural goods from Russia. As a result, Bangladesh has been actively seeking alternative sources to meet its fertilizer requirements. In the past, the country has procured 300,000 tons of fertilizers from Russia.
The recent agreement builds upon a previous commitment made by the Bangladesh government to import 180,000 tons of fertilizers from Russia, prior to the Ukraine conflict. Although Bangladesh managed to import 60,000 tons of fertilizers at that time, around 120,000 tons remained pending. With the new deal, Bangladesh aims to ensure a consistent supply of non-urea fertilizers, which typically need to be imported from abroad to meet approximately 90% of the country's demand.
This move by Bangladesh mirrors the steps taken by its neighboring country, India. According to recent data, India imported 34.19 lakh tonnes of fertilizers, including urea and DAP, from Russia during the April-February period of the last fiscal year, marking the highest import volume in the last three years.
It appears that both countries recognize Russia's expertise and capacity as a major fertilizer producer and are seeking to strengthen their fertilizer imports to support their agricultural sectors.
