Punjab seeks resolution of fertiliser subsidy issue

Punjab agriculture minister worried about availability for upcoming Rabi crops

ISLAMABAD: The Punjab Agriculture department has asked the federal government to take immediate steps to resolve the fertiliser subsidy issue, in order to ensure availability of the required fertiliser for the upcoming Rabi crop.

An official in the Punjab government told The Express Tribune that Punjab Agriculture Minister Dr Farrukh Javed wrote a letter to Finance Minster Ishaq Dar. He suggested the latter to address the issue at the earliest as it has been delayed for three months due to the absence of a mechanism to process the claims of the fertiliser importing companies.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has failed to develop any mechanism for processing of the fertiliser subsidy, a task which was assigned by the federal government through a notification on June 25, 2016 to disburse the subsidy announced in the budget 2016-17.

The provincial minister expressed fear that there would be shortage of DAP for the Rabi crop of wheat, which would start sowing from October.

The letter mentioned that if the subsidy, meant for facilitating the farmers to reduce the cost of production, did not reach them in a timely fashion it would have no utility.

Officials revealed that Javed also asked the centre to ensure that all the provinces deposit their due share for fertiliser subsidy as they did not honour their commitment last year and it was only Punjab which contributed Rs3 billion of its due share to the pool.

Earlier, fertiliser importers also wrote to the federal minister for National Food Security and Research to resolve the subsidy issue or they would increase the price of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) by Rs300 per 50kg bag.

Earlier this week, the federal secretary for National Food Security and Research also sought two more weeks to address the issue after meeting with the FBR chairman.

The importers pointed out that the government had failed to finalise the mechanism for processing subsidy claims and disbursing funds to DAP importers even three months after issuing a notification for subsidy payments on June 25, 2016.

It said the FBR, which had been tasked with putting in place the required mechanism, had failed.

The importers further said that the federal government also did not take any steps to deposit the subsidy in the State Bank of Pakistan.

A source in the ministry said that the federal government has recently deposited 25% of its share in the subsidy amount in the first phase and has assured that the remaining would be deposited shortly.

However, the official said that no province has so far contributed their due share.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th, 2016.

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