ISLAMABAD: May 16, 2024: In a bid to address lingering issue of urea shortage on the long term basis , Fertilizer Manufactures of Pakistan Advisory Council (FMPAC) has submitted a formal proposal to the ministry of Industries and Production that all the fertilizer plants operating in the country should be formally allocated and supplied gas including for future expansions and debottlenecking exclusively from Mari gas field under bilateral arrangements in accordance with applicable gas pricing polities .
FMPAC added that it’s confident that its strategic move will yield the results for the government to ensuring timely availability of fertilizers to the farmers at affordable prices. FMPAC argues that the proposal will bring a number of benefits to the country such as availability of affordable urea to the farmers as well as save much-needed foreign exchange being spent currently on import of urea. It also added that the proposal , if accepted by the government, will assure timely supply of gas to the fertilizer industry for next 10 years and subsequently attract investment in fertilizer production and energy efficiency. FMPAC noted in its communique to the government that it firmly believes that implementation of its proposal will not only address immediate concerns regarding affordability and availability of urea fertilizer to the farmers by operating all fertilizer plants at full capacity throughout the year but also lay a solid foundation for ensuring food security and economic stability for Pakistan in the foreseeable future.
Pakistan is importing roughly 0.3 million tons urea every years which costs millions of dollars to the national kitty. Since imports itself is a hazardous process it mostly results in distortions in supply of urea to the farmers. The government policy of diverting gas to the domestic consumers in the peak winter season and suspension to the industry results in short production. The supply of costly gas to the fertilizer industry is another major cause of increase in urea prices. The supply of gas as proposed by FMPAC in its proposal from Mari gas field will sort out all thorny issues, besides making urea availability to the farmer for crops at affordable price. The gas being produced from Mari gas field is a low BTU gas having around 700 mmcfd heating value and it can only be used for fertilizer industry. FMPAC proposal to the government is a timely and sane act and its implementation can yield desired results like ensuring timely urea supply to the farmers at affordable price.
