National Fertiliser Marketing Limited (NFML) has reportedly asked the Punjab Agriculture Department (PAD) to share with it information and names of untraceable dealers in imported urea involved in black marketing and over-charging.
Sources in the Punjab Agriculture Department told Business Recorder here on Thursday that the NFML has written a letter to the department to cooperate in this regard. It may be mentioned here that the Punjab agriculture department is already involved in monitoring the sale and disbursement of imported Urea through the dealers' network of the NFML to ensure its transparent sale.
However, the provincial government raised many objections on the sale procedure and alleged that some part of this imported urea is going to untraceable dealers and destinations. Sources of the department while sharing the results of monitoring of sale of imported Urea being done on daily basis claimed that despite strict monitoring, around 23,000 urea bags are being black-marketed daily but government agencies have no mechanism to trace. Billions of rupees have been wasted on account of subsidy on imported urea, but farmers cannot get the benefit of single penny.
Official figures reveal that on average over 1,100 tons of imported urea goes untraceable in distribution channels. Numbers indicated that despite hue and cry of farmers, 21 percent out of total 200 authorised urea dealers have been identified as ghost vendors that have no traceability.
Figures show that in Sahiwal division (covering Sahiwal, Okara and Pakpattan), urea black-marketing is alarmingly high. Out of total 33 imported urea dealers 21 dealers are untraceable. Similarly, in Faisalabad and Multan divisions, 14 and seven dealers are ghost, respectively.