Punjab runs short of 600,000 tonnes urea
August 20, 2008 LAHORE (APP) - Punjab is running short of 600,000 tonnes of urea with 4.8 million tonnes production against the requirement of 5.4 million tonnes.
Provincial Agriculture Minister Ali Ahmed Aulakh disclosed this in his wind-up speech in the house after a thorough debate on availability of fertilizers in Punjab following an adjournment motion on the subject moved by MPA Mian Muhammad Rafique during the house proceedings on Tuesday.
The minister said the 20pc DAP fertilizers is being produced locally, while 80pc is imported from other countries. The provincial govt, he added, has already sought help from the federal govt to bridge the demand and supply gap to ensure proper and timely availability of the fertilizers to the growers.
Aulakh said that a project was under way to enhance the production capacity of urea under which Engro Urea and Pak-Arab Fertilizer Company would be able to produce an additional 1.6 million tonnes of urea by year 2010.
The government is well aware of the problems of the farmers and Agriculture Department is taking all possible measures to ensure uninterrupted supply of fertilizers to growers at a reasonable prices, while keeping a check on the import, export and distribution record of the production units, he maintained.
The minister said the department under his supervision conducted 283 raids and got registered 260 cases against the hoarders, and dealers of sub-standard fertilizer with relevant police stations, besides arresting 95 persons in this regard.
The Department also recovered urea of worth Rs 24.321 million from different parts of the province, he said, adding “We have also recovered 80,000 bags of urea and 134,000 bags from the godowns in Multan and Lodhran respectively.”
Aulakh said that Punjab Agriculture Department also confiscated sub-standard pesticides worth Rs 220m during its raids in various areas of the province.
The minister assured the house that government would continue to take all possible measures and utilize all available resources so as to make an easy access of farmers to all agri inputs.
Earlier, a large number of the members make their insertions to improve the fertilizers availability and other agri inputs. They observed that proper and timely availability of agri inputs would help pull the country out of prevailing food crises.
As soon the members completed their viewpoint, the Law Minister Rana Sana Ullah Khan, on a point of order, appreciated the treasury and opposition MPAs for playing an active role in highlighting the importance of the matter as well as giving suggestions in this regard. Later, the chair adjourned the session for tomorrow (Wednesday) at 10:00 am.