OKARA, Aug 21: Dealers have created the shortage of urea fertiliser in the district after district government officials cracked down on them to bring the prices of a urea bag from Rs660 to the original price of Rs635. After the shortage, now a urea bag is being sold at secret places for Rs800 to 850 creating difficulties for farmers who need the commodity for their crops.
Ten days ago, the district government started raiding fertiliser shops in the district to force the dealers to sell urea at the government’s prescribed rates. The officials fined Rs10,000 to Rs25,000 to four shopkeepers for overcharging. The crackdown, however, failed to bring about any positive change and instead the shopkeepers started shifting their stocks to other cities. Government officials confiscated truck and tractor trolleys in Deepalpur and Okara laden with urea bags which were being shifted to other districts. Officials sold these bags to farmers on governmental rates. Now, the traders are not ready to take any risk and have stocked urea at undisclosed locations.
SAHIWAL: The shortage of 16,000 ton urea in the district market has escalated the prices of fertilizers. The consumption of urea in July and August is 34,000 tons in the district.
According to district agriculture officials, now only 18,000 tons of urea is available in local market. This demand-supply gap will increase the urea prices more in coming days, which is already being sold at inflated rates.
Muhammad Farooq, agriculture (extension) district officer, confirmed the shortage of urea in local market. Muhammad Munir, a fertiliser dealer in Ghala Mandi, said around 90 per cent cotton growers sowed Bacillus- Turingiensis cotton seed, popularly known as BT cotton seed verity. BT cotton consume more urea per acre than other seed varieties.
He said the government had also failed to check the smuggling of urea to other countries. He said as the prices of DAP phosphate were getting higher, farmers were turning to urea, which had increased its demand. He added growers sowed maize and rice in 40,000 and 90,000 acres in the district and these sowing patterns had also increased the urea demand in the market.
In the last 40 days, the district agriculture department arrested 11 urea dealers for overcharging. The agriculture department claimed the dealers were arrested just to curtail the prices of urea in the open market.
The last 10 days of August are very crucial for cotton and maize. Anjuman Kashtkaran representatives said if demand-supply gap persisted, a low yield crisis would affect the economy already facing the worst ever crunch.
MULTAN: Agriculture department and district government officials have allegedly understated the number of urea bags confiscated from the godowns.
Officials say that agriculture department (extension) officials raided the godowns of a dealer on Bahawalpur Road on Aug 9 and seized 100,000 fertiliser bags. Fertilizer dealer Khwaja Azhar along his eight accompanies opened fire on the farmers who were there to buy the commodity leaving four people injured.
Two FIRs were lodged against the accused in Mumtazabad police station. According to Agriculture Executive District Officer (extension) Zaffaryab Haidar, up to 42,453 urea and 1,000 DAP fertilizer bags were confiscated from the godowns.
Sources, however, have another story to tell. They say instead of lodging an FIR against the accused under the Pesticide Act, the department announced selling the seized stock that was about 750,000 bags with the consultation of District Coordination Officer (DCO) Fazeel Asghar.
They said when the department tried to sell the seized bags to their favorite dealers the dealer became furious and opened fire.
Sources say the DCO took the matter in his hands and after bargaining with the dealer, two FIRs were lodged in Mumtazabad police on Aug 9 wherein it was stated that only 100,000 bags were seized.
District Coordination Officer Fazeel Asghar was not available for comment. Mr Haidar said his department raided the godown on Aug 9 morning and the seized bags were sold on control prices the same day. He said the earlier assessment of the officials showed that the number of bags was 100,000 but the later counting showed the actual number of bags was just 42,453.