LAHORE: The Fertiliser Manufacturers of Pakistan Advisory Council (FMPAC) has appealed to the government that regulation of DAP fertiliser import should not be executed in the national interest as regulation may undermine national efforts to attain self-sufficiency in fertilizers by discouraging any new investments in the country.
The TCP has recently been authorized by the ECC to facilitate import of DAP without any financial burden on the government. The approval came out of the blue as no summary has been moved, according to sources in the ministry. This has raised concerns in the domestic importers as it is likely to hit the supply chain badly.
In a letter to the ministry of commerce, the Fertilizer Manufacturers of Pakistan Advisory Council (FMPAC) has raised serious concerns over approval of DAP import though trading corporation of Pakistan.
According to the letter, the approval of such an important subject without consulting the stakeholders is to the utter dismay of the fertilizer industry which has been ensuring timely availability of fertilizers through competitive bidding at the opportune time over the past years, ever since, the import of DAP has been deregulated.
Executive Director FMPAC, Brig Sher Shah Malik (retd) said it is important to examine the implications of the proposal for the fertilizer supply chain to avoid subsequent complexities. The intervention of TCP in phosphatic fertilizer imports will have damaging consequences for the farmers and domestic industry, and will also have significant impact on the country’s economy and food security at large, he added.
The FMPAC rejected the proposal saying that regulating a product which is imported is subject to variations in price due to import CFR cost and exchange rate under the prevalent environment.
The FMPAC warned that the intervention by the TCP will not only eventually lead to product shortage in the country but the proposal of brokerage fee by TCP will also be ultimately passed to the end users by the international suppliers.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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