Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque has warned of tougher action against those who will be found involved in selling fertiliser at exorbitant prices compared to the price fixed by the government as the country has a substantial stock of fertiliser.
"Directives have already been given to the concerned field level officials to strictly monitor that none can sale fertiliser in excessive price...If any allegation found then strict punitive action would be taken," he said while exchanging views with the journalists on contemporary affairs at his secretariat office in Dhaka on Sunday afternoon, reports BSS.
"The country has enough stock of all kinds of fertiliser including Urea, TSP, DAP and MoP," he said, adding that the concerned officials must be kept vigil so that none can create an artificial fertiliser crisis anywhere in the country.
Razzaque, however, said the recent fuel price hike would not create any impact on fertiliser price, adding: "Even the production would not be hampered but the price of the agro-commodity will soar."
Responding to a query, the agriculture minister said: "The government is trying exclusively to reduce the hardship of the people," he said, adding that the prices of food items, fertiliser, oil and gas have soared exorbitantly resulting in various global reasons including ongoing pandemic and war between Ukraine and Russia.
As part of minimising people's hardship, Razzaque said the government will distribute rice to 5.0 million families at a cost of Taka 15 per kilogramme. Even different social safety net programmes will also be continued.