PKI slams CCoE Suggestion

Pakistan Kissan Ittehad has strongly protest over the reported recommendation of the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) to divert gas from Urea fertilizer manufacturing plants to other sectors. This will have serious negative impact on the current wheat season and also on the coming Kharif season, said Pakistan Kissan Ittehad President Khalid Khokhar in a statement issued here on Friday.
He proposed that Urea plants must remain operational throughout 2019. Wheat is the most important food crop which uses more than 50% of the Urea off take in the country. Any shortage of Urea fertilizer during current Rabi season will bring disaster not just for the farmers of Pakistan but also food production in the country. Current Urea retail price in the country is Rs 1850 per bag due to its existing shortage. Urea price was Rs. 1370 per bag in December 2017. Farmers are already bearing this heavy burden of Urea fertilizer price increase. If Urea production is not continued uninterrupted, the price of Urea fertilizer may cross Rs 2000 per bag in the market. This will break the back of the farming community, Khokhar alleged.
He said in India the price of 50kg Urea bag is INR 268, which is equal to PKR 536 per bag. In Pakistan it is almost 3.5 times higher at Rs 1850 per bag. In many countries fertilizer is subsidized to allow farmers to produce more crops so the country can prosper. But this is going in opposite direction in Pakistan. Allowing Urea to be sold at higher than maximum retail price and then shutting down plants is negligent towards the farmers of the country. Also, availability of Ammonium Sulphate and Ammonium Nitrate is important. Pakistan is focusing on exports. But no exports of wheat, cotton or any other crop will take place if the price of Urea fertilizer is not controlled. When Urea and other fertilizer prices were low, Pakistan was able to export wheat and earn foreign exchange. Cotton is an even more important crop for exports. The entire Textile sector will shut down if cotton is not produced in the country. It is important to prioritize subsidy and increased availability for fertilizers. This will allow farmers to produce more cotton and produce raw material for the Textile sector. Today the cotton crop is in deep trouble due to the fact that the farmer is not making money on the Cotton crop.
Concluding his plea, Pakistan Kissan Ittehad chief said that the reported CCoE recommendation to stop gas supply to two Urea plants is against earlier ECC decision. Gas supply to all Urea plants must continue throughout 2019. The government must also make sure that Urea fertilizer is not black marketed to farmers which is happening today due to its shortage.