ISLAMABAD, March 11: The fertilizer manufacturers agreed on Tuesday to reduce prices between Rs10 and Rs15 per bag to meet Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali’s demand to provide relief to the farmers.

Informed sources told Dawn the manufacturers would submit the final size of reduction in writing to the Ministry of Industries and Production on Wednesday. The recommendations would then be submitted to the cabinet for approval in its forthcoming meeting.

The broad agreement was reached at the end of a marathon five-hour meeting of a committee constituted by the federal cabinet on February 26.

The meeting, presided over by Industries and Production Minister Liaquat Ali Khan Jatoi, was attended by all the stakeholders, including the fertilizer manufacturers.

The cabinet committee was constituted to provide relief to the farmers and offer incentives to the agriculture sector and work out modalities to reduce the prices of fertilizer without disturbing the investment climate in the country in general and the fertilizer industry in particular.

The current market prices of urea are at around Rs415 per 50 kg bag, including Rs50 per bag GST, while imported urea per bag is available at around Rs572, inclusive of GST.

The cabinet committee comprised the ministers for food and agriculture, labour and manpower, the prime minister’s adviser on investment and privatization, and the chairman of National Reconstruction Bureau.

The industries minister told the meeting the prime minister had directed that all the options should be considered to provide relief in the prices of fertilizers and any other incentive to the farmers in order to encourage them.

He said the government was also encouraging investment in the country and would not impose any decision on the manufacturers.

According to the official statement, the committee, with the consensus of the manufacturers, would formulate its recommen-dation regarding the reduction in prices.

The recommendation of the committee would be submitted to the cabinet at the earliest, the statement said. Managing director, Fauji Fertilizer, Lt-Gen (retd) Amjad Shoaib, gave a briefing to the meeting on behalf of the fertilizer manufacturers on the cost of manufacturing fertilizer, subsidy received from the government in the shape of lower price of feed stock gas, distribution system, quality and quantity of the fertilizer.

The manufacturers assured their full cooperation to provide relief to the farmers and stated that the quality and quantity of the fertilizer would also be maintained. They also gave their suggestions to boost the investment in the sector and to ensure the prices at lower level, the statement said.

Minister of state for food and agriculture, secretaries of industries and production, food and agriculture, chairman of National Fertilizer Company, and representatives of fertilizer manufacturing companies also attended the meeting.