DAP price up Rs 400 per 50kg

Importers on Monday raised the price of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), an essential crop nutrient, by Rs 400 per 50-kilogramme bag on the back of soaring international prices, market sources said. They said that after the current upsurge, the price of the commodity had reached the historical level of Rs 1,680 per bag.
DAP PRICE HAS REACHED NEW PEAK OF 700 DOLLARS PER TONNE IN INTERNATIONAL MARKET: One Saturday, the importers were selling the commodity to dealers at Rs 1,280 per 50-kilogramme bag, he said. As a sequel to price increase by the importers, the dealers said the DAP price in the retail market would go up in the next two days, affecting some major crops.
Referring to the shortage of DAP in the local market, they said it was difficult to meet the farmers' rising demands for the Rabi crops, which included wheat and rice. Commenting on the upward trend that has been holding for the last two months in the international market due to an increasing global demand, sources said the importers had no choice but to raise the DAP price. "Since November 2007, the prices of DAP in the international market have gone up by 40 percent," a leading importer said.
He said, at present, the DAP price had reached new peak of 700 dollars per tonne in the international market as against 500-525 dollars per tonne, showing an increase of 175-200 dollars per tonne. He said that due to the rising international price of the commodity, importers were compelled to raise the DAP price by 31 percent in the domestic market.
"After the current upsurge on Monday, the price of DAP has reached all time high level of Rs 1,680 per 50-kilogramme bag," he added. He said some six companies were importing DAP from the world market to fulfil the local demand and all importers had unanimously raised the commodity's price by Rs 400 per bag. Since the government was providing a subsidy of some Rs 470 per 50-kilogramme bag, the price of DAP was, therefore, still lower than the international market.
He said wheat sowing was in full swing in different parts of the country and the farmers would be needing the DAP in big quantities to boost their production. The growers might not find it feasible to use DAP in huge quantities because of its increasing prices, he said. He said the country had over one million tonnes of DAP consumption annually.