Acid crisis shuts country's only DAP fertiliser factory for 20 days

The country's only state-owned DAP (Di-Ammonium Phosphate) fertiliser factory, DAP Fertiliser Company Limited in Anwara, Chattogram, has been shut for 20 consecutive days due to a phosphoric acid crisis.

Production at the factory has been suspended since 8:00 am on June 28 due to disrupted raw material supply. The prolonged closure of the factory, which plays a vital role in producing DAP fertiliser, could affect future fertiliser supply in the agricultural sector.

According to factory sources, Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) issued a tender through e-GP in January to import 20,000 tonnes of phosphoric acid for DAP production. M/S R K Enterprise was awarded the contract and was supposed to supply the raw material by June.

However, due to instability in the Middle East and the US-Iran conflict, international supply chains were disrupted, preventing acid imports from Jordan and other sources. Without the raw material, authorities were forced to halt production.

To resolve the crisis, BCIC floated two new tenders on June 8 and June 23, but no bidder came forward. Two more tenders have since been issued, with one set to open on August 8 and the other on September 9.

DAP Fertiliser Company Limited Managing Director Mominul Haque said the factory requires about 600 tonnes of phosphoric acid daily. Although the factory has a storage capacity of 20,000 metric tonnes, production has been suspended since June 28 as stock ran out.

"The contractor, M/S R K Enterprise, could not supply the raw material due to the war situation," he said. "However, the contract has not been cancelled. Production will resume once phosphoric acid supply begins."

Meanwhile, administrative activities at the factory remain normal.