President Sindh Abadgar Board Abdul Majid Nizamani lauding the government policy of deregulation and privatisation pointed out that in volatile market especially in conditions where competition is not perfect, the government should safeguard the interest of the consumers.
In a communication to President General Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister and minister for privatisation and other top officials the board president emphasised the need for safeguarding the interest of consumers while pursuing the policy of privatisation.
Referring to the privatisation of Pak Arab Fertiliser, he said that although there is strong regulatory framework in place to safeguard the interests of the growers but the fear is that few large producers of fertiliser might formed a cartel similar to that of cement sector to manipulate the price of fertiliser at the cost of farming community.
It has been observed that the fertiliser industries are making huge profits but they never passed the gains to the farmers suffering enormous production losses. He said it is in the interest of the farmers that the government should retain such projects to ensure price stabilisation in the prices of fertiliser.
He said it as an internationally acknowledged fact that on the developed market, government should continue to provide services where it is required, and for the farmers and the agriculture sector it is imperative that the government should continue to play the due role, he added.