Islamabad: The government has urged fertilizer manufacturers to reduce the price of diammonium phosphate (DAP) by Rs 3,000 per bag to ease financial pressure on farmers facing rising inflation and escalating input costs.
The request was made during a meeting of the Fertilizer Review Committee chaired by Federal Minister for Industry, Production and National Food Security, Rana Tanveer Hussain. The session focused on assessing the availability of DAP and urea for the 2024-2025 Rabi crop season.
Minister Hossain appealed to fertilizer companies to reduce DAP prices from Rs 12,000 to Rs 9,000 per bag, noting that this would greatly benefit farmers who are suffering from high costs. However, representatives of fertilizer companies were reluctant to commit, noting that the proposal would require further consultation with their management.
Agriculture, the cornerstone of Pakistan’s economy, has shown that sectoral growth positively impacts the overall economy, as we saw in the previous fiscal year.
It was reported that the total supply of urea for industrial and non-agricultural consumption reached 22 thousand tons during the fiscal year 2023-2024. Since domestic production is often less than demand, imports are required to fill the gap.
Participants recommended limiting domestic urea sales to agricultural use, suggesting industrial demand should be met by imported supplies. They proposed allocating local urea for industrial purposes only during the less active months of April, May and October, while maintaining a reserve stock of 300,000 tons.
In Punjab, the provincial government launched a program to promote balanced consumption of fertilizers. Demand for DAP in October 2024 increased by 44% to 309,000 tons against the expected quantity of 215,000 tons. The rise is attributed to Punjab’s Rs 75 billion interest-free loan initiative through Kisan Cards, which gives farmers Rs 30,000 per acre to purchase seeds, phosphorus and nitrogen.
So far, farmers have withdrawn Rs 18 billion to buy fertilizers under the scheme. The trend of increasing DAP usage is expected to continue through November and December.
Rana Tanveer Hussain assured stakeholders that sufficient fertilizer stocks were available to meet the demand during rabi planting. He stressed the importance of supporting farmers to achieve better returns, and called on provinces to take strict measures against monopoly and price manipulation.
Key officials, including Saif Anjum (Minister of Industry) and Ali Tahir (Minister of National Food Security), participated in the meeting, in addition to representatives of the provinces.