LAHORE: Urea prices have increased approximately Rs100 per 50 kilograms compared to the controlled rate of Rs1,668 per 50 kg bag as widening demand and supply gap of the nutrient is affecting wheat cultivation, industry people said on Tuesday.
The availability of urea fertiliser on the controlled price during wheat cultivation is becoming challenging day by day amid strong demand. Prices are in the range of Rs1,725 and Rs1,760 per bag, said Khalid Khokhar, president of Pakistan Kissan Ittehad.
Wheat is cultivated on almost 22 million acres in Pakistan. Urea fertiliser consumption of this crop is around 2.2 million metric tons. Its application starts with sowing in November and December and continues till mid of February.
Wheat crop’s productivity this year remains crucial for food security considering that a huge quantity of over two million metric tons of wheat had to be imported in 2020 to bridge the supply-demand gap.
Farmers with the support of federal and provincial governments have sown wheat on a large scale this year.
Khokhar said wheat has been sown on more than 22 million acres in the country till now. With this achievement, there has been a sizable increase in demand for urea fertiliser. Despite the fact that urea manufacturers are supplying fertilisers at Rs1,668/50kg bag, rise in its market prices is mainly due to the gap between rising demand and short supply, he said.
Two urea manufacturing plants have not been operational for the last several weeks. The combined monthly production capacity of closed plants of Fatima Fertilizer and AgriTech stands at 70,000 metric tons of urea. The closure of these plants adds to the problem of urea tight supply, further squeezing supply in the market, Khokhar said.
Pakistan Kissan Ittehad appeals to the government to take immediate action to ensure sufficient supply of urea in the market so that its timely availability at controlled rates to farmers is ensured.
“Any laxity at this important juncture could result in a dent in wheat production,” said Khokhar. “Immediate corrective action will help in achieving the wheat production target of 27 million metric tons and potentially save the country from the burden of importing another 2-3 million tons of wheat again next year.”
Pakistani soil is generally deficient in nitrogen. Urea helps supplement nitrogen deficiency and thus it becomes the most widely chosen fertiliser in the country. Urea is a concentrated nitrogenous fertiliser that contains 46 percent pure form of nitrogen, which is a major plant nutrient.
Nitrogen is a vital component for the photosynthesis process responsible for growth of the plant. It is applied to promote vegetative growth of crops and orchards. Hence, nitrogen is the first and most important nutrient element required by the plants in larger quantities.
The good price of wheat, corn and sugarcane and modest returns on paddy enable farmers to spend more on farm inputs this year. It makes urea as a readily available relatively cheap fertiliser. The increase in the urea offtake and short supply dampens efforts of applying it on crops due to uptrend in prices, according to Pakistan Kissan Ittehad.