New Fertilizer Policy: Govt to review Gas pricing for fertilizer plants
News Report
The government is set to change the gas pricing formula for fertilizer plants in the new proposed Fertilizer Policy.
It started deliberations on salient features of the new policy on Thursday.
The government has formed a group that would discuss gas pricing in the new fertilizer policy to remove disparity in pricing.
Federal Minister for Industries and Production Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar presided at the high-level meeting on the new Fertiliser Policy.
Gas Supply: Govt puts fertilizer at par with the export sector
Minister for Energy Mr. Hammad Azhar and Minister for Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam attended a meeting. The senior officials of these Ministers were also present.
The meeting deliberated on the framework of the Fertiliser Policy in detail. Participants deliberated to base the upcoming fertilizer policy on three broad areas ie demand, supply, and pricing of soil nutrients.
Rationalization of Gas In New Fertilizer Policy
They also discussed 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 new Fertiliser Policy.
During the discussion, Minister 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 a record production of 6.3 MMT urea this year due to the timely actions of the government.
Minister Khusro Bakhtyar emphasized encouraging the application of nutrient balance into the soil in Rabi & Kharif season 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 mechanism on a long-term basis.
Minister for Energy Mr. Hammad Azhar laid stress on efficiency analysis of manufacturing plants vis-a-vis gas consumption of the running plants to maximize the output production of fertilizers.
Furthermore, the meeting concluded with the formation of three sub-committees separately to work on the supply, demand, and pricing strategy of fertilizers within existing agronomic practices.
The sub-committees will comprise 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. Meanwhile, the committee directed the sub-committees to present a collaborative policy draft in the next meeting.
