The government has approved separate proposals to procure some 1.40 lakh tonnes of fertilizer, two cargos of LNG, and 2.20 lakh MT of wheat to meet the country’s growing demand.
The Advisory Council Committee on Government Procurement approved the eight proposals, involving a total expenditure of Tk 2,874 crore at its 28th meeting held on Wednesday with Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed in the chair at the Cabinet Division of Bangladesh Secretariat.
Of the eight approved proposals, four were from the Ministry of Agriculture related to fertilizer; two from the Energy and Mineral Resources Division; and one each from the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Food.
Following the proposals from the Ministry of Agriculture, the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) will procure 30,000 tonnes of muriate of potash (MOP) from Russia’s state-owned JSC Prodintorg, Tk 139.70 crore, with each tonne priced at $351.50.
The ministry also proposed buying 30,000 tonnes of triple superphosphate (TSP) from Morocco’s OCP Nutricrops for Tk 211.82 crore at $574.50 per tonne. Another 40,000 tonnes of diammonium phosphate (DAP) will be sourced from the same Moroccan company at a cost of Tk 378.22 crore, with a unit price of $770.
Additionally, 40,000 tonnes of MOP fertiliser will be imported from Canadian Commercial Corporation at Tk 172.90 crore, priced at $351.50 per tonne. Together, the agriculture ministry’s four proposals amount to over Tk 902 crore to support fertiliser supply for the upcoming planting seasons.
The Department of Energy and Mineral Resources tabled two proposals to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the spot market. One shipment will cost Tk 513.36 crore at a rate of $12.128 per MMBtu, while the second will be procured at Tk 522.23 crore at $12.43 per MMBtu. Both proposals followed international quotation processes under the Public Procurement Rules.
The Ministry of Commerce proposed procuring 7,000 tonnes of lentils through open tender from the domestic market at a cost of Tk 64.32 crore.
The Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will execute the purchase at Tk 91.88 per kilogramme.
The Ministry of Food sought approval to import 2.20 lakh tonnes of wheat from the United States on a government-to-government basis. The estimated cost of this procurement is Tk 871.58 crore, with a per-tonne rate of $302.75.
The combined proposals reflect the government’s strategic stock-building efforts ahead of the next crop season and growing food security concerns.