Uniform retail price: PKI to ensure sufficient availability of urea fertilizers

LAHORE: The Pakistan Kissan Ittehad (PKI) has called upon the government to ensure sufficient availability of urea fertilizers on uniform retail price across the country through uninterrupted gas supply to its manufacturing units or through timely import.

PKI President Khalid Mahmood Khokhar said this while reacting to the statement of the federal caretaker minister for commerce, industries and production that there was no shortage of fertilizers in the country for the upcoming Rabi crop.

Furthermore, the minister assured that gas supply to the fertilizer industry would be maintained at full capacity, guaranteeing uninterrupted production. Farmers of Pakistan are looking forward for a continuous supply of Urea at affordable prices during current wheat season.

Khokhar also quoted Business Recorder news that the Petroleum Minister Muhammad Ali had tailored a plan to unify feed gas prices of fertilizer industry at par with industrial rate of Rs 1,260/ MMBTU instead of subsidized rates, if implemented, would result in increased urea price to Rs. 4600 per bag.

The PKI Chief said the farmers were already being exploited by middleman and paying approximately PKR 100 billion additional cost during this year based on 6.8m tons annual consumption of urea. Middleman was exploiting poor farmers by charging a profit of Rs 800 to 1000 per bag over and above the MRP set by the urea manufactures.

Parallel to the urea price, farmers were already facing price hike of Phosphatic fertilizers due to bullish pricing trend in the international market. To meet food requirements of the growing population and reduce food inflation, use of balance fertilizers is a prerequisite to enhance per acre yield of wheat.

Compared with the last Rabi, cost of crop production had substantially increased during this year, primarily because of increase in fertilizers, diesel, electricity and other operational expenses. This increase could lead to lesser use of fertilizers, causing low productivity thus failure to meet the national wheat production target to be set for 2023-24, Khalid Khokhar claimed.

While giving a way ahead, PKI Chief asked that the government should ensure availability of Urea at uniform MRP across the country. It should also ensure enough urea availability, either through providing uninterrupted gas supply to urea manufacturing plants or through timely imports.

The government may also devise an effective mechanism to mitigate effect of increase in cost of crops’ production on sustainable basis, instead of inefficient direct subsidy being offered to the farmers, he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023