ISLAMABAD: The first consignment of 50,000 tonnes of urea will arrive from China through a cargo ship on February 10, Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry said Thursday a day after a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) approved the import on an immediate basis.
The order is subject to clearance from the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority, the body said.
In a statement on his Twitter account, Chaudhry said the committee approved the import of 150,000 tonnes of fertilisers from China.
“The first cargo ship carrying 50,000 tonnes of fertiliser will reach the port by February 10,” he said, adding the 600,000 tonnes of local fertiliser will also be available in the market from later this month.
ای سی سی نے چائنہ سے ڈیڑھ لاکھ ٹن کھاد درآمد کرنے کی منظوری دی ہے۔ 50ہزار ٹن کھاد کا پہلا جہاز10فروری کوپہنچے گا۔جنوری سے6لاکھ ٹن مقامی کھاد بھی مارکیٹ میں آنا شروع ہوجائے گی۔ عالمی منڈی میں بہت زیادہ قیمت کے باوجود ہمارے کسان کو کھاد کی کمی کا سامنا نہیں ہو گا
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) January 6, 2022
Despite a hike in prices of urea in the international market, the farmers will not face a shortage of it in the country, he assured.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has also directed all the provincial chief secretaries to take effective steps for the availability of urea by checking its illegal transportation to neighbouring countries, especially Afghanistan.
During a meeting on the Agri Transformation Plan, Khan was informed that administrative steps are being taken against individuals involved in creating an artificial shortage of fertilisers.
Pakistan’s own urea demand is about 6.2 million tons per annum. The country meets around 84 percent of its requirement through local production while the remaining is met through imports, according to the official data.
The localisation of fertiliser production and supply of subsidised gas has made it possible for the nation to consume less foreign exchange on the import of urea and absorb the higher impact of international prices.
