Urea fertiliser has, reportedly, disappeared from the markets in Punjab, including Sailkot''s rice growing area, after the Ministry of Industries, headed by Pervez Elahi took the charge of the Ministry. The affairs of the Industries Ministry are being run by both the Minister and the Prime Minister''s Advisor on Industries Basharat.
National Fertiliser Corporation (NFC), a subsidiary of the Ministry of Industries, had warned the federal government on May 31, 2011, that the country would become absolutely dry with hardly any fertiliser being available for Kharif. Agri Forum Pakistan Chairman, Ibrahim Mughal, has accused the officials of Industries Ministry of corruption. He has also held them responsible for this crisis as, he said, the farmers are not able to purchase urea even at Rs 1530 per bag.
Minister Pervez Elahi is said to be engaged in removal of senior officials of the Ministry and its attached departments. Other officials are also expected to be made OSD. In May 2011, the Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet had decided to import 164,000 tons of urea for Kharif season 2011, utilising the remaining amount of SABIC facility of $100 million earlier deferred. However, despite passage of more than one month, urea has not been imported.
"The nexus of Industries Ministry''s corrupt officials and local fertiliser industry are responsible for this crisis," Ibrahim said. The Punjab government has also admitted that urea crisis is being witnessed in some parts of the province but the responsibility is being shifted to the federal government, especially to the Ministry of Industries.
"Yes, you are right about urea crisis. I have approached the federal government at different levels including Secretary Minfa and Secretary Cabinet but no progress has been witnessed so far. Now we will try for intervention at Chief Minister''s level," said Secretary Agriculture Punjab, Arif Naddeem, while talking to Business Recorder.
When contacted Chairman of Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP), Anjum Bashir said that he is in Saudi Arabia to talk with the Saudi Fund and SABIC for import of urea. "I am in Riyadh to meet SABIC and SFD officials," he added.
Official documents show that National Fertiliser Corporation (NFC) had conveyed to the government that scarcity of urea was imminent unless corrective measures were taken on time, but nobody heeded the warning. "We foresee a chaotic situation in the coming days. As a precaution. we have slowed down the sale of urea to keep some strategic reserve which stands at 52,000 tons today," said , NFC Managing Director Brigadier Bilal Ahmad Khan (Retd), in a letter to Secretary, Industries and Production.
Punjab Agriculture Secretary told this scribe that at present urea''s total stock is about 38,000 tons, which means that the province is short of about 150000 tons of urea. Analysts say that if a deal is struck with Saudi Arabia on using of $100 million facility for import of urea from SABIC the commodity would take one month to reach Pakistan. This implies that farmers would not get urea for their rice crop. According to NFC Managing Director, 150,000 tons is supposed to be kept as strategic reserve as far as National Fertiliser Marketing Limited (NFML) is concerned. This deficiency is likely to increase at an astronomical rate, drying its stores completely.
Ibrahim has also criticised local fertiliser companies, saying that they are equally responsible for this crisis as they are getting Rs 400 subsidy on each bag of urea. The government is extending about Rs 520 million as subsidy to the fertiliser sector, which should be withdrawn immediately, and feed gas rates should be charged at par with international prices, he said. "Fraud in the name of subsidy should be stopped immediately," he added. He also demanded that the price of fertiliser should be printed on the bags to discourage cartelisation and middleman.
NFC Managing Director argued that due to extreme shortage of gas, the local production of urea in the country is going to be hampered which, in turn, would affect agricultural output, hurting not only the farmers but also Pakistan''s exports, resulting in colossal loss to national economy.