Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: High-level fertilizer review meeting on Wednesday discussed the availability and demand of Di-ammonium phosphate or DAP and its substitutes for coming Kharif season.

Federal Minister for Industries and Production Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar chaired a high-level fertilizer review meeting, said a press release issued here. Federal Minister for Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam joined the meeting through media link. Other participants include representative of fertilisers manufacturing industry, importers, and officials of Provincial departments.

The Chair was briefed that DAP is reliant on imports as local production of DAP clocked around only 30 percent whereas demand for DAP stands at 2.2 million tons in Rabi and Kharif season. The forum was told that due to high price differential, DAP applications witnessed 17.7% decline as compared to urea in this Rabi season. While speaking to meeting, Minister Khusro Bakhtyar directed the Ministry of Food Security to chalk out subsidy mechanism along with Ministry of Industries and Production for provision of DAP fertilizer to farmers at affordable prices as global prices of phosphoric acid and ammonia used for DAP production as well as the prices of DAP – finished product had also gone up unprecedentedly in international market.

The Minister also emphasized that the incumbent government was committed to the welfare of farmers and would take all efforts to ensure that the farmers didn’t have to face the burnt of price-rise. The meeting concluded with guidelines for subsidy framework to be submitted to forum in next meeting.