Agri Inputs Company MD Cites Budget Shortfall for Fertilizer Purchase Issues

Kathmandu. Managing Director of Agricultural Inputs Company Limited, Bishnu Prasad Pokharel, stated that they were unable to purchase chemical fertilizers due to a lack of sufficient budget. He said this on Wednesday during a meeting of the Agriculture, Cooperative, and Natural Resources Committee. He also warned that a fertilizer crisis would arise next year if the government does not allocate sufficient budget for fertilizer purchase. He stated that due to budget constraints in the current fiscal year, they could not purchase enough fertilizer. The government had allocated a total of 28.82 billion rupees. Of this, the company received 20.174 billion rupees, and with that budget, 359,100 metric tons of fertilizer were purchased, Pokharel informed. Although there was a plan to purchase 550,000 metric tons, it could not be bought as prices in the international market skyrocketed, he said. According to him, the company currently has 105,241 metric tons in stock. He stated that this stock would only last until the end of Asar or the first week of Shrawan. He informed that for the upcoming fiscal year 2083-84, the company has already called for tenders to purchase 210,000 metric tons of fertilizer. However, due to the Israel-Iran tension and the Middle East crisis, the price of urea in the international market has increased from $590 per metric ton to $1,000, and the price of DAP has exceeded $1,100, making the supply uncertain, he said. He also informed that the process of purchasing 50,000 metric tons of fertilizer through G2G process with India's government company, National Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited, has been initiated. Pokharel stated that Nepal's annual fertilizer requirement is around 900,000 metric tons, but the government allocates budget for a maximum of only 450,000 to 500,000 metric tons. He said it is natural for farmers who need four bags of fertilizer to say there is a shortage when they only get two bags. He also mentioned that the long process of the Public Procurement Act, lack of warehouse capacity, dependence on India's Kolkata-Haldia port, and the inability to transport by rail have further complicated fertilizer supply. Pokharel urged the government to arrange a budget of over 50 billion rupees to purchase at least 600,000 metric tons of fertilizer next year. He also pointed out the need to review the trade and transit agreement with India and utilize the ports of Visakhapatnam, Paradip, and Dhamra, and expand the facility for transporting fertilizer by rail to Biratnagar and Bhairahawa.