ISLAMABAD: The country possesses ample stocks of Urea and DAP (Diammonium phosphate) for the Rabi crop season, besides abundant wheat reserves, sufficient to meet the country’s requirements, the National Flood Response and Coordination Centre (NFRCC) was informed during a briefing on Tuesday.
The National Flood Response and Coordination Centre (NFRCC) briefing was held with its Deputy Chairman Ahsan Iqbal in the chair along with National Coordinator NFRCC Lieutenant General Muhammad Zafar Iqbal and Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Lieutenant General Inaam Haider Malik.
On the occasion, Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal directed that the provincial governments should take strict measures against those involved in hoarding or creating artificial shortage of Urea and DAP.
The Ministry of National Food Security and Research Secretary informed the session that there was no shortage of wheat and the current stock was sufficient to meet the country’s requirements.
Currently, out of 6,215,327 metric tons (MT) of wheat reserves at the national level, Punjab has 3,067,435 MT, Sindh 865,584 MT, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 96,282 MT, Balochistan 49,630 MT and Pasco has 2,136,396 MT.
He said that the support price of wheat was determined by considering the cost of production, including seeds and fertilizer costs so that the farmers would get adequate profit.
Additional Secretary, Ministry of Industries and Production, told the forum that the required quantity of Urea and DAP for the Rabi crop was available in the country and there was no shortage. The tender for the import of 300,000 MT fertilizer was already under process.
He said that 3,870,000 MT of fertilizer for Rabi crops would be produced locally, while at present, the fertilizer companies had reserves of 374,479 MT in stock.
Ahsan said that provincial governments and district administration should play their role to ensure a timely and low-cost supply of fertilizer to farmers. He said that the authorities concerned should take strict action against the Urea/DAP hoarders.
The process of wheat seed supply for Rabi crops to the flood-affected farmers was also reviewed in the session and the forum instructed the provincial governments to ensure the establishment of facilitation centres at the tehsil or taluka level for the seed supply.
