12 November 2004	Friday	28 Ramazan 1425

ISLAMABAD, Nov 11: The government on Wednesday warned the fertilizer companies of cancellation of their licence if they failed to immediately lift and distribute 70,000 tons DAP fertilizer lying at Karachi Port for many days.

The decision was taken at a meeting presided over by Federal Minister for Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) Sikandar Hayat Bosan here on Wednesday.

Some fertilizer companies were not lifting the DAP to create artificial price hike and shortage of the commodity at a time when its consumption is peaking with the start of wheat sowing in Sindh and most parts of the Punjab and the NWFP, official sources said.

The demand of fertiliser increases in Sindh, Punjab and NWFP between November and January/February as people mixed it with wheat before sowing for increased production, officials said.

However, due to increase in fertilizer prices, a good number of farmers could not afford to buy the commodity.

The meeting was also attended by the representatives of fertilizer companies including Fauji Fertilizer, Engro Chemicals, National Fertilizer, Chawla Brothers, Jafar Brothers, United Distributors and Daud Hercules.

Mr Bosan also directed the fertilizer companies and the official concerned to send to the Minfal daily demand and supply report of the fertilizer. He also asked the fertilizer companies to cancel the licences of their distributors who resorted to profiteering.

The minister has taken the move a day after he dispatched letters to the chief ministers of the provinces. In his letters, Mr Bosan expressed his dissatisfaction and concerns over the sudden increase in the prices of DAP in the markets without any apparent reason.

The DAP's prices per 50 kg rose from Rs950 to Rs1060, and even to Rs1100 in parts of NWFP. The increase in the price is illogical because, there are still stocks of 857,000 tons of phosphorus fertilizer in the country as compared to its overall 780,000 tons of demand. This meant the country would have a surplus of 78,000 tons at the end of the year.

The minister had also directed the administration of the provinces to take action against those responsible for creating price hike and cancel their licences.

The sources said the minister also took up the issue of a decrease of Rs100 per 50 kg of Urea/DAP by the fertilizer companies as recently announced by President Musharraf on the occasion of the Kisan Convention.

The president had directed the fertilizer companies to bring down the prices of DAP and other urea by Rs100 per 50 kg. At that rate the dealers should have sold the DAP on Rs 868 per 50 kg instead.

The sources said the additional secretary, Minfal, Mumtaz Ahmed Shaikh had also dispatched similar letters to officials concerned in all the provinces and has directed them to resolve the issue without any further delay.

Representatives of the fertilizer companies, however, told the minister that they had not increased the price of the DAP on their own, but, it was due to the increase in the price of the commodity at the international level where it has crossed $ 290 per tone.