ISLAMABAD
The domestic production of fertilizers during just ended fiscal year has increased slightly by 0.2 per cent over last year. The imported supplies of fertilizer also witnessed an increase of 15.4 per cent, hence the total availability of fertilizers reduced by 4.4 percent during the period mentioned above.
Sources at Food and Agriculture Division said fertilizer is the most important and expensive agriculture input and contribution of balanced use of fertilizers towards increased yield is from 30 to 50 percent in different crop production regions of the country. One kg of fertilizer nutrient produces about 8 kg of cereals (wheat, maize and rice), 2.5 kg of cotton and 114 kg of stripped sugarcane.
Almost hundred percent soils in Pakistan are deficient in nitrogen, 80-90 percent are deficient in phosphorus and 30 percent in potassium. The sources said during the period total offtake of fertilizer nutrients witnessed a small increase of 1.1 percent.
Nitrogen offtake decreased by 0.5 percent, phosphate increased by 5.6 percent and potash offtake recorded a significant increase of 33.8 percent.
They said major reason for increase in offtake of phosphate fertilizer is stability in prices of DAP. Kharif 2014 started with inventory of 386,000 tonnes of urea. Total availability of urea (including 122,000 tonnes of imported supplies and 24,51,000 tonnes of domestic production) was about 2,959,000 tonnes against the offtake of 2,716,000 tonnes, leaving an inventory of 184,000 tonnes for Rabi 2014-15.
The sources said total availability of DAP during Kharif 2014 was 1,023,000 tonnes, comprising 99,000 tonnes of inventory, 524,000 tonnes of imported supplies and 400,000 tonnes of local production.
The DAP offtake was 586,000 tonnes leaving closing balance of 430,000 tonnes for coming Rabi 2014-15.
Rabi 2014-15 started with an opening balance of 1,84,000 tonnes of urea. Domestic production during Rabi 2014-15 was estimated as 24,93,000 tonnes. Urea offtake during current Rabi 2014-15 is expected to be 31,00,000 tonnes, against 3,253,000 tonnes of total availability, leaving a closing balance of 151,000 tonnes for next season. DAP availability in current season of Rabi is estimated as 1,260,000 tonnes, which included 430,000 tonnes of inventory, 498,000 tonnes of imported supplies and domestic production of 332,000 tonnes.
Offtake of DAP during current Rabi season was about 1,140,000 tonnes, leaving a balance of 118,000 tonnes for next season.
The sources said total availability of urea during Kharif- 2015 was estimated to be about 2,740,000 tonnes comprising of 151,000 tonnes of opening stock, 39,000 tonnes of imported supplied and 2,550,000 tonnes of domestic production. Urea offtake is expected to be around 2,900,000 tonnes, reflecting a shortfall of 160,000 tonnes which will be covered through imports.
Total availability of DAP will be 484,000 tonnes against expected offtake of 6,00,000 tonnes.
The supply and demand gap in DAP will be met by imports through private sector during Kharif 2015, the sources added .