ISLAMABAD, Aug 28: The Economy Monitoring Committee (EMC) has directed the Federal Agriculture Ministry to expedite the import of 300,000 tons of urea from Saudi Arabia to check its rising price in the domestic market.

Presided over by Finance Minister Naveed Qamar, a meeting of the EMC held here on Thursday also directed the Ministry of Industries to ensure sufficient supply of sugar to the market in Ramazan.

The EMC also constituted a committee comprising representatives of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal), Finance Division and Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) to help monitor the import of wheat from Canada and USA on deferred payments.

The Minfal officials briefed the meeting that 125,000 tons of urea will soon arrive at Karachi ports and would be disbursed in the market immediately to control the unprecedented hike in the price of the vital agricultural input which could badly impact the overall agricultural production this season.

A Minfal official told Dawn that the meeting was informed by Minfal officials that black marketeers were hoarding the fertiliser at a time when cotton and rice crops were maturing and international prices of fertiliser were going up.

This year, the country is suffering from 600,000 tons of fertilisers shortfall. The total local urea production is about 4.8 million tons, while the demand has crossed the 5.4 million tons.

He said the EMC was informed that the existing urea shortages in the domestic market had enabled the middleman to earn higher profits through black marketing and hoarding keeping in view the skyrocketing increase in the price of urea in the international market.Earlier this month, an inter-ministerial body, in consultation with fertiliser manufacturers, decided to provide 50 per cent of total production to dealers and sell 50 per cent at control rate of Rs625 per 50-kg bag at the warehouses of manufacturing plants.

The provinces were also asked to take immediate steps to ensure supply of fertiliser to farmers at control rates and take action against hoarders and black marketeers.

The EMC also directed Minfal to make sure that the imported fertiliser is made available in the market and distributed through the Fertiliser Corporation of Pakistan (FCP) and Utility Stores Corporation (USC).

Minfal also informed the meeting that the prices of DAP had surged from Rs900-1,000 to Rs2,800-3,100 in the market and the government was providing a subsidy of Rs470 per 50-kg bag.

Minfal also warned the EMC that the landed cost of DAP could go beyond Rs5,000 per bag but it was encouraging that the government decided to provide maximum subsidy which could keep the DAP prices below Rs3,100 per bag.

The country’s total annual production of phosphatic fertilisers is about 700,000 tons against its demand of 1,300,000 tons, leaving a gap of 600,000 tons.

The Ministry of Ports and Shipping also briefed the EMC on the up-country transportation cost of imported wheat from Gwadar and Karachi ports.

The committee also directed the Ministry of Petroleum and the Finance Ministry to complete their homework on proposals to cut down usage of petrol and diesel.