The National Fertilizer Secretariat has rejected reports aired on several television channels on Monday (04) alleging that the government paid excessively high prices for fertilizer imports.
A representative of the National Farmers’ Union had claimed that urea could be purchased from Kazakhstan at USD 220–320 per metric ton, while the government had permitted imports at around USD 800 per metric ton.
In a statement, the National Fertilizer Secretariat clarified that although requests to import urea from Kazakhstan were received and promptly approved, no institution has yet imported fertilizer from that country.
It noted that on April 29, Ceylong Trading and Plantation (Pvt) Ltd placed an order for 25,000 metric tons of urea, but imports have not yet taken place.
The Secretariat further pointed out that India recently purchased urea at prices exceeding USD 900 per metric ton, and that weekly international reports confirm current global market prices for nitrogen fertilizers are significantly higher than the figures cited by the farmers’ representative.
According to the Secretariat, available data show that urea prices are several times higher than the alleged Kazakhstan rates, underscoring that the government has not overpaid for fertilizer imports. (Newswire)
