Shrinking coffers: Govt strives to arrange funds for urea import

Foreign currency reserves under strain due to heavy overall imports.

ISLAMABAD:

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of cabinet has asked the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) to seek loans for import of urea in the current Rabi sowing season as heavy overall imports have put a strain on the government’s foreign currency reserves.

In a meeting held on October 2, the ECC agreed that there was an immediate need to import urea for planting crops and allowed purchase of 500,000 tons for the Rabi season, which runs from October to March. However, it suggested that avenues of financing should be explored to meet the cost of import, sources say.

“For this, the EAD should make necessary efforts in coordination with the Ministry of Industries and Production and the Finance Division,” a source quoted the ECC as saying.



The ECC also felt the need for regular supply of gas to fertiliser producing plants according to their quota in order to ensure optimum production and supply and avoid shortage of fertiliser in the sowing season.

Earlier in the meeting, the Ministry of Industries and Production proposed that the ECC might allow the Trading Corporation of Pakistan to import 500,000 tons of urea – 300,000 tons in November and 200,000 tons in December – from the international market.

The ministry also asked the ECC to direct the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources to make sure that gas was supplied to all urea producing units in winter, a period when gap between demand and supply of gas widens significantly.

The meeting participants discussed that Pakistan would face urea shortage in the Rabi season and this would possibly be felt by December when demand would hit its peak.

According to the Ministry of Industries, provinces in a meeting held in September had given an estimate that they would need 3.211 million tons of urea in the sowing season.

Punjab will require 2.130 million tons, Sindh 677,000 tons, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 254,000 tons and Balochistan 150,000 tons.

Giving the expected gas supply schedule for fertiliser plants, a meeting participant said domestic urea production was 587,000 tons per month with 100% gas supply. In case of gas shortage, the urea production came down to 376,000 tons per month.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 12^th, 2013.

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