Engro urges govt to increase fertiliser export quota

DAHARKI: Engro Fertilizer Limited, the sixth largest urea producer in the world, has demanded government to allow exports of one million tons of urea this year instead of 300,000 tons in order to save the fertiliser from damage.

Senior vice president manufacturing Asif Tajik, while talking to reporters in Daharki, District Ghotki, said there was an inventory of above 1.5 million tons with the producers. “If not exported by the end of this year, 20 percent of such stocks would likely be damaged in warehouses,” he added.

Tajik said fertiliser companies wanted to export their available stocks, but low international prices and thin margins in exports were the major obstacles. He said the company was not producing fertiliser at its full capacity because of low demand in the market. “Our net profit in 2015 was Rs15 billion which came down to Rs9 billion in 2016 and this may further reduce in the ongoing year mainly because of excess supply and low demand,” he added.

Due to low demand in the country, fertiliser players are not running their plants on their full capacity. Engro Fertilizers is likely to start its pesticide business on the commercial basis by the end of this year.

“Pakistan is a market of around Rs40 billion pesticides sales annually. We are already going through the testing phase.” The company is in talks with five companies to market their products in Pakistan.

Besides visit of Engro Fertilizers plant, a media visit was held in ‘Katcha’ villages to highlight the educational efforts done by Engro Fertilizers in the area. Engro Fertilizers administration manager Azhar Malik said, “Engro Foundation aims to realise the dreams of our people to make a difference in the lives of those around us and in our value chain. At Engro, we believe in the power of Pakistan’s human capital to change the face of communities and economies and make them agents of a wider change.”

During the briefing to the media it was highlighted that Engro Fertilizers has established computer labs with 68 laptops and computers in thirteen schools in the area. Engro is committed to improving the quality of education available to Pakistan’s children, particularly primary education.

Over the years, Engro has developed a strong partnership with organisations such as The Citizens Foundation, sponsoring their efforts to both raise standards and make education more widely available. With the creation of Engro Foundation, however, the company is in a position to directly begin to impact the education system.

Engro has initiated a Government School Adoption programme. With the support of the Sindh education department, Engro currently sponsors 10 schools with a combined enrolment of over 1,600 students in the Daharki and Qadirpur regions.

Manager CSR Dr Sadoro Keeriyo said, “It is estimated that 70 percent of primary school children in Pakistan are unable to read a simple sentence as per grade level – we hope that this programme drives the change needed in service of Pakistan’s children.”