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Thursday March 28, 2024

Govt plans to reverse urea price increase for Kharif season

By Israr Khan
May 12, 2022

ISLAMABAD: Government is mulling reversal of urea price to Rs1,768/bag to provide relief to the farmers during the current Kharif season that started on April 1 with sowing of major crops including cotton, sugarcane, rice, and maize in progress.

The current price of urea is Rs1,850-1,870/bag.

Federal Minister for Industries Makhdoom Syed Murtaza Mahmud while chairing the Fertiliser Review Committee (FRC) meeting on Wednesday said gas supplies to fertiliser plants were restored as per agreement, and uninterrupted supply would continue for domestic production to support farmers.

Mahmud further said that any justified increase in urea price would be notified by the government later on after consulting with the industry. Federal Secretary for Industries and Production Jawwad Rafique Malik and senior officials of the ministry also attended the meeting along with fertiliser manufacturers, dealers, Punjab chief secretary and secretaries of provincial agriculture departments.

Mahmud also assured the industry that the government would address issues about outstanding payments of industry. Considering the price differential between urea and DAP, the Minister said the government had decided to make subsidy payments directly to farmers immediately through the Ministry of Food Security and provincial governments so that DAP prices could cool down. This step would also ensure balance applications of nitrogen and phosphate-based fertilisers by the farmers, he added.

The forum discussed domestic production and demand of the farm input, prices, subsidy plan, and tracking and verification mechanism of fertilisers for the Kharif season in the backdrop of the Prime Minister’s meeting on the commodity.

In Tuesday’s meeting, the Prime Minister approved various policy measures to ensure the availability of fertilisers at affordable prices to farmers during the Kharif season. At the onset of the meeting, agricultural departments briefed the forum that there was a 14 percent decline in DAP off-take in the last sowing season due to price inflation, which meant crops had received less phosphate component, which affected yield.

The committee was told that there was dire need to provide balanced nutrients into the soil for excessive grain production.

He said, however, the government would discourage compulsive purchase of DAP by farmers along with urea by dealers recently. The forum noted that non-registered fertiliser dealers would be brought under a verification mechanism.

It had been made necessary for dealers to get registered with respective provincial departments to ensure smooth supply of fertilisers at the district level.

Manufacturers assured the registration of dealers with relevant provincial departments. To curb hoarding and smuggling, the government had decided to set up a task force under the Ministry of Interior consisting of law enforcement agencies, Federal Board of Revenue, and provincial departments to thwart cross-border trafficking of urea.

The government had geared up implementing a vehicle registration, tracking, and verification system to smoothen adequate and timely supply of crucial soil nutrients to farmers during the Kharif season. Commenting on the industry’s recent urea price hike, Mahmud remarked that the government would not tolerate unjustified price increases of urea.