Govt clears Aramco LNG, palm oil, fertiliser imports

The government has approved the purchase of LNG cargo from Aramco Trading Singapore Pte Ltd at $23.93 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) to help maintain a stable gas supply amid ongoing shortages.

The cargo is scheduled for delivery on 1-2 September and will be Bangladesh’s 44th LNG cargo in 2026.

The approval came at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase on Wednesday at the NEC conference room in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka.

Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury chaired the meeting.

The committee approved seven procurement proposals from different ministries and divisions.

Separately, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave in-principle approval to procure 14 LNG cargoes from seven companies, with two cargoes to be sourced from each company.

The cargoes will be procured through direct procurement to ensure uninterrupted gas supplies during state emergencies, officials said.

The names of the companies and estimated total cost were not disclosed.

The government is continuing to secure LNG supplies as rising gas demand and supply constraints put pressure on power generation, industry and other sectors.

The meeting also recommended extending technical assistance from Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for another year to ensure uninterrupted production at the Ghorashal-Palash Urea Fertiliser Factory. The proposed support will cost Tk39.52 crore.

Tk368cr palm olein purchase for 10 million low-income families

The government has approved the purchase of 20 million of refined palm olein at Tk368.20 crore for sale at subsidised prices to 10 million low-income families holding Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) cards.

The palm olein will be purchased at Tk184.10 per litre, including transportation costs to TCB warehouses.

According to officials, the Commerce Ministry procured the oil through an open tender. Three bids were submitted, of which two were found technically responsive.

Following evaluation, Shabnam Vegetable Oil Industries Ltd of Dhaka was recommended as the lowest responsive bidder.

The Cabinet committee approved the proposal on an ex-post facto basis, while the Finance Ministry provided a counter-guarantee for the required funds.

The government has set a target of procuring 220 million litres of edible oil in the fiscal 2026-27. So far, 5.36 million litres have been procured.

115,000 tonnes of fertiliser to be imported

The government has approved three proposals to import 115,000 tonnes of fertiliser from Canada, Russia and Saudi Arabia at a total cost of Tk564.25 crore.

Of the total, 75,000 tonnes will be muriate of potash (MOP) from Canada and Russia, while 40,000 tonnes will be bulk granular urea from Saudi Arabia.

Under the first proposal, the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) will import 40,000 tonnes of MOP from the Canadian Commercial Corporation under a government-to-government agreement at a cost of Tk187.23 crore.

The consignment will be financed from the agricultural subsidy budget, with the price set at $377.63 per tonne under the agreed price-adjustment mechanism.

The government also approved the import of 35,000 tonnes of MOP from Russia under a government-to-government agreement.

Russia’s JSC Foreign Economic Corporation (Prodintorg) will supply the fertiliser as the fourth lot for FY27.

The Russian consignment will cost Tk163.83 crore and will also be financed from the agricultural subsidy budget.

Under the agreement’s price-determination mechanism, the MOP price has been set at $377.63 per tonne.