DAP Fertilizer Company Limited (DAPFCL), the country’s sole Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) fertiliser producer, faces an acute shortage of ammonia, a key raw material, owing to the gas crisis. Current ammonia stocks will sustain production only until April 15. Without fresh supplies thereafter, the plant will have to halt output, said Rabiul Alam Khan, the company’s deputy general manager (commercial), speaking to Bonik Barta.

DAP requires ammonia and phosphoric acid as its main inputs. DAPFCL usually obtains ammonia from two suppliers: Chittagong Urea Fertilizer Company Limited (CUFL) and multinational Karnaphuli Fertilizer Company Limited (KAFCO). The factory also imports phosphoric acid from Morocco, Jordan, China, Vietnam and South Africa.

An ongoing gas crisis has kept both CUFL and KAFCO shut since March 4. The resulting lack of ammonia now directly curbs production at DAPFCL.

Asked about the situation, Khan told Bonik Barta: “We need around 2,000 tonnes of ammonia a month as raw material, which we get from CUFL and KAFCO. With current stocks we can continue production only until April 15. If neither of those two plants restarts by then, we must declare a halt to our own fertiliser production.”

Authorities are yet to decide on restarting KAFCO and Chittagong Urea Fertilizer, both shut because of the gas crisis. Mohammad Moniruzzaman, a director (commercial, production and research) at Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC), told Bonik Barta on April 3 that the gas shortage would keep all plants except the Ghorshal–Polash facility in Narsingdi closed for the entire current month.

According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, national fertiliser demand for the 2026–27 fiscal year will reach 6.77 million tonnes. DAP accounts for 1.35 million tonnes of that. Domestic producer DAP Fertilizer Company Limited has an annual capacity of 140,000 tonnes. Imports cover the rest. For the current fiscal year, the plant targets an output of 100,000 tonnes.

Saudi Arabia supplies one-third of the country’s fertiliser needs. A blockade of the Strait of Hormuz — which links the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman — has created uncertainty over imports of 600,000 tonnes of DAP from Saudi Arabia under contract for the current calendar year. The government has already begun seeking alternative sources. Existing fertiliser stocks are now dwindling. The agriculture ministry insists its reserves will comfortably last until June. But if demand rises in July and August with the start of the Aman season, Bangladesh could face a shortage.

Earlier, the gas crisis prompted authorities to keep the Shahjalal Fertilizer Company’s plant in Fenchuganj running while shutting five urea plants, including the multinational KAFCO. BCIC repeatedly wrote to the Energy and Mineral Resources Division seeking gas supply to restart those facilities. Instead of reopening all, the government switched to a rationing approach: from April 3 it restarted the Ghorshal–Polash urea plant — which can produce 1,500 tonnes more a day than the Shahjalal facility — and closed the Shahjalal plant.

Agricultural economists warn that the Middle East crisis risks rupturing global fertiliser supply chains. Import dependence could backfire in such a scenario. They argue the country must raise domestic output by any means.

“We have always argued for keeping all domestic fertiliser plants running,” Jahangir Alam, an agricultural economist, told Bonik Barta. “Global fertiliser prices have nearly doubled. Uncertainty hangs over timely availability and transport. At this point nothing beats increasing domestic production. So we must supply gas on a priority basis to keep these plants operating. The DAP plant depends on CUFL and KAFCO for ammonia. That means we must keep at least one of those two urea plants running.”

He added: “The Aush and Aman seasons are coming. The winter vegetable season will begin after that. Without major planning now, we’ll struggle through every crop cycle. That would drive up food inflation and place food security at grave risk.”