Fertilizer smuggling to India triggers artificial crisis
Sabbir Hossain, Hatibandha (Lalmonirhat)
Despite a 1.66-million-ton national surplus, illegal smuggling to India is creating an artificial fertilizer crisis in Bangladesh's border areas.
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) recently seized smuggled urea across several districts, including 24 tons in Brahmanbaria and smaller consignments in Lalmonirhat, Jamalpur, and Chattogram.
The trafficking is fueled by heavy Bangladeshi government subsidies, which keep local urea prices at 27 BDT/kg—far below market rates across the border. Syndicates profit from this price gap, siphoning off state subsidies and forcing local farmers to pay inflated prices.
The Ministry of Agriculture confirmed that national fertilizer stocks sit at 5.18 million tons against a seasonal demand of 3.52 million tons. BGB maintains a zero-tolerance stance on cross-border smuggling.
