ISLAMABAD- Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar chaired a meeting today to take stock of Fertilizer off take and prices in the country.
The meeting was attended by the Federal Minister for Petroleum, the concerned federal secretaries and the representatives of fertilizer industry led by Managing Director Fauji Fertilizer Company.
The Finance Minister underscored the commitment of the present government to take necessary measures for development of agriculture and protection of the interests of farmers.
The Minister referred to the historic Kissan Package of Rs.342 billion announced by the Prime Minister and also highlighted government‘s commitment to reduce cost of agriculture sector inputs particularly fertilizers, which was key to increasing yield and productivity.
The meeting noted that there was a need to take urgent measures to achieve reduction in urea prices as international prices of urea had declined. The price of locally manufactured urea also needed to be reduced for the benefit of farmers.
After detailed discussion, it was decided that Fertilizer industry will immediately announce reduction in urea prices by Rs.70 per bag. It may be recalled that the fertilizer industry had increased urea price by Rs.160 per bag when the gas tariff was raised in September 2015. The increase was however rolled back later on. The present reduction of Rs 70 per bag will be on top of the earlier reduction of Rs. 160 per bag. The industry assured to keep the urea price stable in the future to safeguard the interest of the farming community.
The representatives of the fertilizer industry apprised the meeting of the current demand supply situation and informed that lower sales & revenue were raising issues of sustainability for the industry.
The Minister emphasized that the reduction in prices would result in higher consumption, which will be helpful for the industry as well. In this way it will prove to be a win-win for the industry and the farmers.
