The New Nation - Internet Edition

Shamim Jahangir

Production of sugar is likely to decline this year as the growth of sugarcane suffered a setback for want of fertilisers.

Many of the growers failed to apply fertilisers on sugarcane fields due to its acute crisis, sources in the Bangladesh Sugar and Industries Corporation (BSFIC), said.

"We fixed the target of sugar production at 1,63,844 tonnes this year, but actual production will elude the target because of non-availability of fertilisers as per the requirement of the growers", sources added.

The 15 BSFIC run sugar mills across the country on an average produce 1.50 lakh tonnes to 1.60 lakh tonnes of sugar annually against the total demand of 12 lakh tonnes.

The 15 sugar mills have a capacity to produce 2,10,400 tonnes pf sugar. But they cannot run to their full capacity because of shortage of sugarcane, according to sources.

A total of 2,27,500 acres of land were targeted for production of sugarcane by BSFIC in 2007-8,but it was cultivated on 2,17,065 acres.

"We will get 18.66 tonnes of sugarcane from each acre of land against the projection of 20.20 tonnes this year," a senior official of BSFIC said adding, "We will get less than 1.54 tonnes of sugarcane from each acre this year due to less application of fertilisers".

"We have got 11,137 tonnes urea fertiliser, 8,018 of TSP and 2,600 tonnes of MOP against the demand of 21521 tonnes of urea, 13,903 tonnes of TSP and 13,103 tonnes of MOP for producing 40,51,137 tonnes of yield," BSFIC sources said.

The supply of fertilisers fell short of requirement by 26,773 tonnes, sources added.

Besides, a total of 74,000 hectares of land were brought under the cultivation of sugarcane under the supervision of Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) to produce 35.66 lakh tonnes of sugarcane.

"Due to less application of fertiliser on the lands the growth of sugarcane will suffer, DAE sources said.