Industry Overview:

Bangladesh is the 8th largest country in the world in terms of population. Agriculture is the single largest producing sector of economy since it comprises about 30% of the country’s GDP and employing around 60% of the total labor force. Agricultural holdings in Bangladesh are generally small. Through Cooperatives the use of modern machinery is gradually gaining popularity. Rice, Jute, Sugarcane, Potato, Pulses, Wheat, Tea and Tobacco are the principal crops. The crop sub-sector dominates the agriculture sector contributing about 72% of total production. Fisheries, livestock and forestry sub-sectors are 10.33%, 10.11% and 7.33% respectively.

Fertilizers support half of the world’s grain production. Cultivation of high yielding variety (HYV) and irrigation facilities increased the consumption of fertilizer in Bangladesh from 313 thousand tons in 1970-75 to 3,223 thousand tons in 2000-04. A tendency to use higher amount of all fertilizers was observed in Boro season than the Aman or Kharif season. However, the sudden rise in price at peak season may cause negative impact on fertilizer consumption by the farmers. Still, there remained a gap between the actual use and recommended dose of the major fertilizers.