LAHORE: The industry has expressed its reservations about the Punjab Fertilizer Control Bill 2025 passed by the Punjab Assembly on Wednesday, fearing it may challenge compost business and hamper supplies beyond the dealer shops.

A spokesperson for the Fertilizer Manufacturers of Pakistan Advisory Council (FMPAC) says the bill has some lacunae as it will disallow sub-dealers to reach out to farmers. The Clause 6(1) of the bill apparently requires all manufacturers to obtain a license for each fertilizer they intend to manufacture, distribute and sell in Punjab, contradicting the ease of doing business, he says.

“Obtaining a separate license for each fertilizer will only add unnecessary bureaucratic burden and hinder the business. Currently the company registration process is already in place both for Sindh and KP (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and we expect to have the same process here in Punjab as well.”

The Clause 32(3) of the bill grants authority to the additional controller (technical) to notify methods of fertilizer analysis in violation of Pakistan Standard Quality Control Authority scope and validity, the federal entity that establishes national standards for products and provide and develop testing methods to have unilateral methodology across the federation. Multiple testing methods will lead to a dual regime of testing for a national operator across all provinces, he says.

According to the industry, Clause 34(3) empowers the regulator to proceed with the FIR abruptly in case of a sample declared as adulterated or fake without clarifying that the manufacturer should be held liable only in case of a dealer registered with the company. It says that the department should establish ‘track and trace’ of the product to the manufacturer before putting up the FIR.

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2025