Gas rationing halts production at state-run fertiliser plant in Sylhet

SYLHET Apr 05: Production at the major state-run fertiliser factory in Sylhet has been suspended for a month under a govt. gas rationing plan amid apprehension of worst shortage due to the Mideast war.

The Shahjalal Fertiliser Company Limited, managed by Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation was closed on Friday in Fenchuganj after an emergency meeting of the Energy and Mineral Resources Department decided to implement the rationing on March 28 for the next three months (April-June). Stating that the production stopped as per the government decision, Shahjalal Fertilizer Company Limited's Managing Director Kazi Ashraf said the government decided to resume production at the plant on May 01.

The factory achieved its annual production target of producing 580,000 tonnes of fertiliser in the first fiscal year after launching in 2015. However, it was unable to achieve its target in the subsequent years due to gas supply shortage.

In 2025-26 fiscal, the plant produced 160,000 tonnes of fertilisers out of the target of 300,000 tonnes and remained closed for 118 days in total. Amid gas shortage on March, Bangladesh shut five of its six major fertiliser factories, which for long failed to produce upto its capacity due to lack of gas supply, according to agencies.

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