Market and product

DHAKA, April 3 (Reuters) - Bangladesh shut five fertiliser factories on Saturday to save nearly 250 million cubic feet (mmcft) of natural gas a day in the face of acute electricity shortages, a senior official said.

"The gas will be diverted to different power plants to produce more 500 megawatts of electricity," said Mohammad Hossain Monsur, chairman of the state-run Bangladesh Oil, Gas & Mineral Corporation or Petrobangla.

The country faces up to 300 mmcft gas and up to 1,500 mw of electricity shortages a day.

"The step will help to improve the electricity supply situation," Monsur told reporters.

Last month the ministry of energy and power decided to stop gas supply to these factories and that would continue till the end of current irrigation season in June for Boro rice crop.

Bangladesh`s annual urea demand is around 3.0 million tonnes, of which the country produces 1.8 million tonnes and imports the rest, mainly from China, Tunisia, Australia and a number of Gulf countries.

Short supply of fertilizer often trigger violent protest by farmers.

In 2006 six people were killed and dozens injured in clashes between police and farmers over the urea shortage, in the country`s north.

Industries Minister Dilip Barua ruled out the possibility of fertilizer scarcity in the country following temporary closure of the fertilizer factories.

"Bangladesh will not face any shortages of urea as the country now has a stock of 500,000 tonnes of urea, almost double the quantity compared with last year," he told reporters. (Reporting by Serajul Islam Quadir; Editing by David Fox)

(Source: http://in.reuters.com)