Dhaka wants fertiliser, Moscow wants mangoes

Russia has expressed interest in importing mangoes from Bangladesh. Bangladesh says it wants to bring in diammonium phosphate (DAP) and potassium fertilisers from Russia.

This came at a meeting of Agriculture Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque and Russian Ambassador to Dhaka, Alexander Vikentyevich Mantytskiy, at the Secretariat on Wednesday.

The agriculture minister expressed interest in importing DAP and potassium fertilisers from Russia in a government-to-government (G2G) deal.

He also expressed interest in signing a memorandum of understanding with Russia in this regard while the Russian ambassador described Bangladeshi mangoes as very delicious and said they are of high quality.

He said there is great potential for exporting Bangladeshi mangoes to Russia and that his country would provide Bangladesh with assistance necessary to deal with the Rohingya crisis.  

The agriculture minister said Bangladeshi farmers are being encouraged to use DAP fertiliser, and that the present government reduced fertiliser prices four times.

He said DAP fertiliser pricing has been reduced from Tk90 per kg to Tk16 which is gradually helping to increase the use of DAP fertiliser.

He also requested Russia to reconsider importing potatoes from Bangladesh.  

The minister said the Bangladesh government has taken several measures to keep potatoes free from bacteria and that Bangladesh is now producing high-quality potatoes.

Russia imposed a ban on the import of potatoes from Bangladesh in 2014 when brown rot disease was detected.

The Russian envoy said they would take steps to resume potato imports.