Inter-Ministerial Committee on Fuel and Fertilizer Pricing
Profile
- Head
- Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury
- Role
- Finance Minister (convener of Cabinet Committee on Energy Price Adjustment; chair of CCGP)
- Annual budget
- —
- Staff
- —
- Established
- —
- Legal basis
- Rules of Business 1996 (as amended); Cabinet Division notification of 9 April 2026 (published 13 April 2026) establishing the six-member Cabinet Committee on Electricity and Energy Price Adjustment; Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources gazette notification of 29 February 2024 establishing the automatic petroleum pricing guideline; Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission Act (BERC's authority over gas and electricity tariffs); Fertilizer (Management) Act 2006 (Ministry of Agriculture's authority over fertilizer retail prices and dealer regulation).
As of May 2026, Bangladesh's fuel and fertilizer pricing architecture is managed by overlapping inter-ministerial mechanisms rather than a single permanent standing committee. Petroleum retail prices rose sharply on 19 April 2026 (diesel Tk 115/litre, petrol Tk 135, octane Tk 140, kerosene Tk 130) following a Middle East conflict-driven surge in global oil prices; Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury leads the April 2026 Cabinet Committee on Energy Price Adjustment and chairs CCGP procurement meetings. Fertilizer retail prices remain government-controlled under Ministry of Agriculture gazette, with gas prices for urea factories set by BERC at Tk 29.25/m3 since December 2025. An inter-ministerial committee with Finance, Energy, Agriculture, Petrobangla, and BCIC representation continues to monitor urea factory gas supply and subsidy levels.
Recent activity
- 2026-04-09 circular Cabinet Division issued a notification forming a six-member Cabinet Committee on Electricity and Energy Price Adjustment, chaired by Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, with Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud and Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muqtadir as members, plus secretaries of Finance, Power, and Energy Divisions. Mandate: review energy tariffs amid Middle East conflict-driven global price surge and prepare Cabinet-level proposals on wholesale and retail price adjustments. ↗↗
- 2026-04-18 policy Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources issued a special gazette notification raising petroleum retail prices, effective 19 April 2026: diesel to Tk 115/litre (up Tk 15), petrol to Tk 135/litre (up Tk 19), octane to Tk 140/litre (up Tk 20), kerosene to Tk 130/litre (up Tk 18). Finance Minister Amir Khosru stated the adjustment was driven by global market volatility, not IMF conditionality. ↗↗
- 2026-04-23 policy Prime Minister Tarique Rahman proposed a 10-member bipartisan parliamentary committee (5 government, 5 opposition) on the energy crisis, chaired by Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Iqbal Hasan Mahmud. Opposition leader welcomed the proposal and indicated names would follow. This committee is distinct from the Cabinet pricing committee. ↗
- 2026-03-31 procurement The 13th CCGP meeting of 2026, chaired by Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, approved import of 35,000 MT of MOP fertilizer from Russia at $360.53/MT (approx Tk 154.89 crore via BADC), 1 lakh MT of EN590 diesel from Exxon Mobil Kazakhstan, 60,000 MT of gas oil from Indonesia (G2G), and 1 lakh MT of crude oil from Abeer Trade and Global Markets. ↗
- 2026-04-15 statement Agriculture Minister Mohammad Amin Ur Rashid told parliament that fertilizer prices are government-fixed and there is no scope for dealers to sell above official rates. District-level monitoring committees (chaired by Deputy Commissioners) and upazila committees (led by UNOs) enforce prices. ↗
- 2026-04-03 statement Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury told journalists in Chattogram that a fuel price adjustment would be made 'at some point in the country's greater interest' and urged strict adherence to government fuel austerity measures amid Middle East conflict-driven import cost pressures. ↗
Provenance & notes
No single entity under the exact name 'Inter-Ministerial Committee on Fuel and Fertilizer Pricing' appears in any published gazette, Cabinet Division notification, or press source as a permanent standing body. The pricing and subsidy architecture is instead split: (1) Petroleum retail prices are set monthly by the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources under the automatic pricing formula (gazette of 29 Feb 2024), with Finance Ministry involvement at CCGP level for procurement approval. (2) Fertilizer retail prices are set by the Ministry of Agriculture under the Fertilizer (Management) Act 2006. (3) Gas prices for fertilizer factories are determined by BERC via public hearings (Tk 29.25/m3 since Dec 2025). (4) A six-member ad hoc inter-ministerial committee formed July 2025 (convener: Joint Secretary Md Monir Hossain Chowdhury, Energy Division; member secretary: Petrobangla Director of Finance AKM Mizanur Rahman) monitors gas supply and subsidies for BCIC urea factories. (5) A Cabinet-level six-member Committee on Electricity and Energy Price Adjustment was formed by Cabinet Division notification dated 9 April 2026, chaired by Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury. This record documents the combined inter-ministerial pricing architecture under that slug as the closest match to a permanent pricing committee. verification_status is 'partial': the constituent bodies are all documented from primary press sources but no single entity under this exact name is gazette-notified. head_since reflects the date Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury assumed office (17 February 2026) with the Tarique Rahman cabinet.
Sources
- https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/national/cabinet-committee-on-electricity-price-adjustment-formed
- https://www.bd24live.com/high-level-committee-formed-with-finance-minister-as-convener-for-electricity-price-adjustment/
- https://www.bssnews.net/business/373142
- https://www.bssnews.net/news-flash/379186
- https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/power-energy/408129/finance-minister-global-market-volatility
- https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/local-news/9643mpl05v
- https://en.bd-pratidin.com/economy/2026/04/15/60717
- https://www.bssnews.net/js-session/380764
- https://en.bonikbarta.com/business/bUe66s7FAETyv01P
- https://en.bddigest.com/after-industry-agriculture-faces-collapse-fertilizer-factory-gas-price-up-83-raising-fears-of-increased-food-imports/
- https://en.bonikbarta.com/business/DKuT3nzIbcwQQKQ1
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_Committee_on_Public_Purchase
- https://unb.com.bd/category/Bangladesh/govt-sets-new-automated-prices-of-petroleum-fuels/132175