AICL has only about 12,000 tons of fertilizers in stock - 38,000 tons Potash and remaining Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) - though total demands hover around 200,000 tons. [break]
“What we have in stock is peanuts compared to the demand across the country. We can´t improve supplies fertilizers unless and until the fresh imports enter the country,” Pashupati Gautam, managing director of AICL, told myrepublica.com on Tuesday.
The government has placed an order for 40,000 tons of fertilizers - 20,000 tons DAP and 20,000 Urea - from Turkey and Egypt. However, the government could not received supplies on time due to delay in issuing letter of credit (LC). Of the 50,000 tons of fertilizers pledged for the current fiscal year by India, the southern neighbor is yet to deliver 15,000 tons.
“We still don´t know when our suppliers will deliver fertilizer consignments. It will take at least a month for the consignment to enter the country,” Gautam said. He further added that the shortage would continue to persist unless the government comes up with the policy to provide subsidy on the entire quantity of fertilizers demanded by the farmers.
According to government estimate, the country requires around 500,000 tons of chemical fertilizer every year. The government is providing subsidy to only 100,000 tons of fertilizers in the current fiscal year.
The Ministry of Finance has sanctioned Rs 1.5 billion as subsidy to import 100,000 tons of fertilizers for the current fiscal year, following the resumption of decade-long suspension on subsidy.
Supplies situation of fertilizers in the market aggravated this year after India - the major source for smuggled fertilizers -- tightened its porous border in an effort to check the illegal supplies.
Keeping in view the persisting shortage of fertilizers in the market, the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives (MoAC) has decided to arrange at least 200,000 tons of fertilizers for the coming fiscal year. It has also demanded Rs 2.3 million from the government as subsidy.
Two weeks ago, the government requested India to supply 100,000 tons of chemical fertilizers -- 60,000 tons Urea and 40,000 tons DAP - at international parity prices in a bid to supplies in the coming season. However, the Indian government has yet to respond to Nepal´s request.
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