ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the government has devised a comprehensive mechanism for the distribution of urea with the help of district administration that would ensure availability of urea fertilizer to farmers at the controlled rate.
The prime minister, chairing a high-level meeting on fertilizer issues on Wednesday, said that increased indigenous production led to urea fertilizer availability to farmers at a five times cheaper rate compared to prices in the international market.
The prime minister directed to implement the plan immediately saying that the facilitation of the small farmers was among the topmost priorities of the government.
A comprehensive plan was also presented in the meeting which after implementation would ensure smooth distribution of urea fertilizer at union council level under the monitoring of district administration, agricultural department and revenue department.
The meeting was given a detailed briefing on urea production, its distribution across the country, monitoring mechanism to curb hoarding and smuggling and the price differential between Pakistan and international markets, including regional countries.
Federal ministers Shaukat Tarin, Fawad Chaudhary, Hammad Azhar, Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiyar, Syed Fakhar Imam, Minister for State Farrukh Habib, SAPM Dr Shehbaz Gill, Jamshed Iqbal Cheema and stakeholders from the fertilizer industry and officials concerned attended the meeting.
The meeting was briefed that the urea production in three-year tenure of the government surpassed 6.1 million tons, 440,000 bags per day, which prior to 2018 never crossed 5.5 million tons, 370,000 bags per day. This was achieved due to the government’s policies, including unhindered supply of gas to urea plants.
In addition to that, due the prime minister’s vision to prioritise food security, a robust system to monitor fertilizer supply and demand with constant monitoring has been put in place that has led to resolution of issues on a daily basis.
The prime minister said that the government was taking strict anti-smuggling and anti-hoarding measures to curb illicit profiteering from urea distribution across the country.
The government had achieved record production of urea fertilizer in its three-year tenure, which surpassed 6.1 million tonnes. Prior to 2018 it never crossed 5.5 million tonnes, he observed.
The meeting was also informed regarding anti-smuggling operations and the number of bags confiscated at the border crossing by authorities.
