A high-level meeting on Thursday decided that the upcoming Fertiliser Policy will be structured on three broad areas of demand, supply and pricing of soil nutrients.

The meeting on the new Fertiliser Policy was presided over by Federal Minister for Industries and Production Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar. It was also attended by Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar and Minister for Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam.

The meeting deliberated on the framework of Fertiliser Policy in detail. It was discussed that the issue of rationalization of gas sale agreements and supply-chain maintenance through local production or imports in conjunction with demand projections would be addressed in the policy.

During the discussion, Khusro Bakhtyar noted that, unlike previous governments, the incumbent government utilized the optimal capacity of the urea plants to meet the demands in the outgoing Rabi season. He said that the local industry witnessed record production of 6.3 MMT urea this year due to the timely actions of the government.

He emphasized encouraging the application of nutrient balance into the soil in Rabi and Kharif seasons to enhance the productivity of cultivated areas in the country. For this, he advised formulating a comprehensive policy framework with reference to infrastructure development and farmer support mechanisms on a long-term basis.

Energy Minister Hammad Azhar laid stress on efficiency analysis of manufacturing plants vis-a-vis gas consumption of the running plants to maximize the production of fertilisers.

The meeting concluded with the formation of three sub-committees separately to work on the supply, demand and pricing strategy of fertilisers within existing agronomic practices.

The sub-committees will comprise of officials of Ministry of Industries and Production, Ministry of Food Security and Research, Ministry of Energy – Petroleum Division and one representative from Ministry of Planning and Special Initiatives as well as technical experts of the field. The sub-committees were directed to present a collaborative policy draft in the next meeting.

Source: Pro Pakistani