ISLAMABAD: The government resolved on Thursday to purchase at least 200,000 tonnes of urea in order to meet the ongoing kharif requirements, despite steadily climbing domestic prices.
A decision to import urea was made at a meeting of the Fertilizer Review Committee (FRC), chaired by Minister for Industries and Production Rana Tanveer Hussain, subject to the figurative ratification by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet in its next meeting.
In light of predictions that urea demand could be 18–20% higher this season, local producers have recently raised their urea pricing one after the other by Rs500 to Rs700 per 50 kg bag for the current month alone, with no discernible change in input costs.
According to reports, the competent authorities have previously questioned the urea producers, who have also been withholding hundreds of billions of rupees that consumers have paid them as part of the Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) for over ten years.
It had “recommended the import of 200,000 tonnes of urea to stabilise prices and supply in the country during kharif,” the Ministry of Industries and Production said in a statement.
It stated that the choice was made during the FRC meeting following an analysis of consumption trends, stock levels, and anticipated demands for the upcoming kharif season.
The meeting was informed that there was a 3.6% increase in urea demand over the previous year. For the kharif season, 3.442 million tons are expected to be used. There were about 3.192 million tonnes of stock accessible in the nation. The remaining amount will be made up by raising output in the nearby fertiliser facilities. The shortfall will be filled by importing 200,000 tonnes.
According to the statement, “all local urea plants will remain operational at full capacity to meet the demand,” and the government was making sure that the fertilizer industry had a steady supply of gas.
The minister stated that by raising farmer output and stabilizing local prices, the early delivery of imported urea would contribute to food security.
