Staff Reporter Islamabad
Minister for Industries and Production Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar on Friday said that the PTI Government was taking all possible measures to supply urea to farmers at affordable prices for wheat sowing.
While chairing the meeting with fertilizer industry, he assured that the constant monitoring of urea supply from manufacturing units and movement of fertilizers at selling point across the country, said a press release issued here.
Khusro lauded the action of fertilizer manufacturers to blacklist the hoarders to smoothen the supply chain and market correction of urea countrywide.
He appreciated the efforts of Punjab government against hoarders, adding that the same measures expected by Sindh government to provide urea at affordable prices for increased wheat production throughout country in interest of public welfare at large.
“Owning to negligence of Sindh government towards controlling prices of essential commodities in province especially in Karachi and Hyderabad, the country had witnessed an increased inflation rate over the past years which had put a lot of pressure on our economy in term of high interest rate , which need to done to control inflation,” he added.
Khusro said that the Sindh government had become a safe heaven for hoarders and profiteers.
The Chief Secretary Punjab apprised the Chair on action taken by Punjab Government against hoarders since last two weeks, whereby inspection teams booked 159 arrests of those involved in hoarding/black marketing of urea and 2.76 lac ton urea had confiscated during raids as well as district administration auctioned the urea bags at notified rates of Rs 1768 per bag.
The fertilizer industry also shared the latest position of supply of urea in the country through real time portal which showed inter-provincial distribution anomalies of urea.
According to available data, Punjab lagged by 4% in urea supplies, whereas 52% urea supplies flew to Sindh as compared to last year in period from September to November, showing excess amount of urea in later province.
