Pakistan has a tremendous untapped agriculture potential. One of the major reasons for low yield is the imbalanced use of fertilisers. Deficiency of any one of the nutrients limits the crop yield.
Use of potassium, which is also widely known as the quality element, is alarmingly low which is the basic cause for keeping Pakistan's agricultural production away from the potential yields.
There are two sources of supplying Potash to the crops, Sulphate of Potash (SOP) and Muriate of Potash (MOP). Both variants of Potash have no harmful effect on the soils. Due to its lower price and higher Potash content, MOP is the preferred source of Potash Versus SOP. Today a 50kg bag of MOP can be purchased for approximately Rs 735 at Karachi, whereas, a bag of SOP will cost at around Rs 1,035 or higher. The price of SOP is high for the fact that the international suppliers charge for the Sulphate also which is not deficient in our soils and such supplement is not required. Moreover, MOP contains 60% Potash, whereas, SOP contains only 50% Potash.
In the late nineties the Government of Pakistan advised the private sector to import and market both MOP and SOP fertilisers. Keeping the national need in mind, Engro launched compound NPK fertilisers in 2001 which contained the three primary nutrients, including Potash, in the right proportion to meet the crop needs. NPKs are considered to be 'Complete and balanced fertilisers' which provide all the primary nutrients in the required proportion to the crops. The value Cost Ratio for farmers using NPKs ranges from 2.1 to 28 for different crops. Research has concluded that use of NPKs increases the yield and profitability of farmers. There are many satisfied farmers in Pakistan who have used NPK fertilisers. As a result, it is likely to contribute towards the improvement of country's agricultural yield, improvement in country's GDP and poverty alleviation in the country.
Due to the quality and it's positive impacts on their crops, a variety of countries have contacted Engro to export their NPKs to them and the government is thinking of allowing export on NPK fertilisers from Pakistan to earn valuable foreign exchange for the country.