Dry spell, lower urea consumption: Country may lose two million tons of wheat production

Pakistan may lose 1.5 million to 2 million tons of wheat production for the current fiscal year 2011-12, if the dry spell continues for another 15 days, whereas urea consumption has reduced by 30-35 percent due to high prices of the commodity in the domestic market.
Sources told Business Recorder here on Tuesday that 1.5 million to 2 million tons less production of wheat can cause loss of Rs 50 billion to the national exchequer. On the other hand, they said, the constant increase in urea prices forced the wheat growers to reduce its use by 30-35 percent. "The locally manufactured urea prices in the domestic market have increased from Rs 1580 per 50 kg bag to Rs 1900 while the imported urea is being sold at Rs 1800/50 kg bag, instead of government's adjusted price of Rs 1325", sources added.
According to sources, the domestic market especially in southern Punjab the farmers are facing shortage of urea fertiliser due to hoarding. "The hoarders have stored urea stocks to create artificial shortage just to increase the prices of the commodity in the domestic market. Resultantly, the urea prices are increasing with each passing day. That forces the farmers to reduce the use during sowing season," sources said.
The wheat procurement price announced by the government (Rs 1050/40kg) is exploitation of the poor growers as their overall cost of production per 40 kg wheat is around Rs 1000 and they are going to get the profit of just Rs 50 per 40 kg of the commodity. "Overall area under wheat cultivation has already been reduced by the farmers in Sindh and Punjab. In Punjab, wheat was being estimated to be sown at 22.7 million acres, while it has been sown on 21 million acres of land while in Sindh it was being estimated to be sown at 2.5-2.7 million acres of land, but due to the recent floods, it was sown at even less than 1 million acres," sources said.
Factors responsible for less sowing in Punjab included non-availability of certified seeds of wheat, late announcement of the procurement price and the high prices of other inputs like urea fertiliser.
Sources said that the dry spell, that has snared the country in its clutches, can adversely affect wheat production for the current fiscal year. "The wheat crop needs application of rain water these days, and if the dry spell continues for the next 15 days, then it would affect the growth of the plant, thus leading to poor yield of the crop," sources explained.
They said that the DAP reserves globally are decreasing alarmingly, while in Pakistan the fertiliser is not being used in a proper way. "The farmers do not know the proper way of its application and how to place it in the soil. That is why, the fertiliser is being wasted here, instead of being stored", sources added.