If the government cares to support local fertilizer producers, Pakistan may enter the global market of fertilizers.
KARACHI: Pakistan is an agricultural country. However, our farmers today are in desperate need of quality urea to produce food crops.
I have been reading in the newspapers that even though the government has the potential to ensure the provision of good quality urea, it prefers to import it, further burdening the foreign reserves.
Moreover, the government is seen to give subsidy on the imported urea to make it affordable to the farmers — making this all the more expensive.
These measures are all quite unnecessary. There are so many fertilizer plants in Pakistan that can produce much cheaper urea for our local consumption. If the government cares to support local fertilizer producers, Pakistan may enter the global market of fertilizers and export this white gold to other parts of the world. This can then add to our foreign reserves, instead of depleting them.
The government should give up heedlessness and laziness to strengthen our economy. The government should focus on this issue as an opportunity. Investing in the production of fertilizers can be beneficial for our nation and help us strengthen out economy, utilise our raw materials to an optimal level, ensure employment opportunities for a host of people and ensure a steady supply of locally-produced food.
Hadiqa Amin
Published in The Express Tribune, May 29th, 2014.
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