20000210

No DAP import for Kharif crop

RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: The Fertilizer Review Committee (FRC) has decided that Fertilizer Import Department (FID) would not import DAP for the Kharif crop.

The FRC meeting was held under the chairmanship of Shafqat Ali Shah Jamote, Minister for Food and Agriculture, to review the position of availability of fertilizer in the country particularly for the coming Kharif. As for the availability of urea, the country is self-sufficient. During the current Rabi season the anticipated offtake of 2.157 million tonnes would be met entirely through indigenous production. DAP's offtake of 740,000 tonnes is to be met through local production of 153,000 tonnes and partly, by imports by FID and the private sector. The supply of both urea and DAP during the current Rabi has been completely satisfactory.

During the forthcoming Kharif (April-September 2000) the entire demand of urea would be met through local production. The demand of DAP is estimated at 360,000 tonnes against the anticipated availability of 550,000 tonnes comprising opening stocks of 300,000 tonnes (as on April 1,2000), local production during Kharif (160,000 tonnes) and anticipated import by the private sector (200,000 tonnes) .

After meeting Kharif requirements, the balance quantity of DAP available during this period would be used for the next Rabi crop. The representatives of the producers and importers were unanimous in their opinion that keeping in view the availability position of DAP, there is no need for the FID to import any DAP for the Kharif season.

At the outset of the meeting, the minister emphasised that in order to determine the supply and demand position, a new methodology should be evolved in which instead of estimating our requirements on the basis of only two crops (i.e. Rabi and Kharif), the changing pattern of the emergence of four crops should be taken into account. It would assist in estimating the needs of production and import of fertilizer on more realistic basis.