LAHORE:
Pakistan Kissan Ittehad (PKI) President Khalid Mahmood Khokhar has mentioned that urea scarcity is being confronted by farmers as its consumption is estimated at 6.7 million tons each year following a rise in plantation space and rising use of the commodity in cereal and cotton crops.
Speaking to media on Friday, Khokhar talked about that Pakistan required an extra 200,000 tons of urea as a buffer inventory to maintain costs steady.
“Sadly, throughout 2023, the home manufacturing estimate may hardly contact 6.four million tons versus demand for six.7 million tons, thus, the farming neighborhood is experiencing a shortfall of round 500,000 tons (consumption deficit of 300,000 tons and buffer inventory of 200,000 tons),” he mentioned.
Drawing the eye of authorities, Khokhar claimed that full manufacturing capability of the fertiliser business was not being utilised, leading to urea shortfall.
He known as for locating a workable resolution to keep away from the recurrence of urea scarcity in future to safeguard the farming neighborhood from middlemen’s exploitation.
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“At current, the business is promoting urea at completely different retail costs, starting from Rs3,410 to Rs3,795 per bag, attributable to variable fuel expenses imposed on completely different urea producers by the federal government,” he revealed, including that the scenario inspired and supplied a possibility to middlemen to use farmers by charging round Rs1,000 per bag over and above the prescribed most retail costs of the producers.
“In a yr, middlemen have pocketed greater than Rs100 billion as ‘black cash’ from farmers,” he claimed.
Speaking in regards to the present scenario, the PKI president added that traditionally urea consumption throughout December had oscillated between 850,000 and 900,000 tons whereas complete availability throughout the month wouldn’t be greater than 650,000 tons. This clearly signifies a shortfall of 250,000 tons, which supplies a possibility for black advertising and exploitation of farmers.
“If we have a look at the demand-supply imbalance, the unavailability/ low stress of fuel for urea manufacturing crops has resulted in manufacturing lack of round 300,000 tons, which is likely one of the prime causes for the shortfall,” he mentioned.
Additionally, regardless of the ECC’s approval for import of 200,000 tons of urea, nothing has transpired but.
The PKI president mentioned that the scenario might have been managed, had required fuel been supplied to urea crops around the yr. Secondly, well timed execution of import selections would have additional minimised the challenges.
Revealed in The Specific Tribune, December 9th, 2023.
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