Salt Trading Corporation Has 39,000 Metric Tons of Chemical Fertilizer in Stock

Kathmandu. Kumar Rajbhandari, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Salt Trading Corporation Limited, said that Salt Trading currently has only 39,000 metric tons of chemical fertilizer in stock. Speaking at a meeting of the Agriculture, Cooperatives and Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday, he clarified that sufficient fertilizer could not be imported in the current fiscal year due to the crisis in the international arena, budget shortage, and port capacity problems. 

The company informed that it has sold approximately 126,000 metric tons of chemical fertilizer in the current fiscal year and said that preparations are being made to maintain a continuous supply in the coming days. He stated that although the Ministry of Agriculture starts the purchase program and tender process for the next year's fertilizer every year in the month of Poush, there is a problem because the budget is allocated only based on the budget amount without specifying the quantity. 

He mentioned that it would be easier to manage fertilizer if the government specifies the quantity with a target of supplying 500,000 to 600,000 metric tons of fertilizer when allocating the budget, instead of specifying amounts like 20 billion or 28 billion, as the quantity of fertilizer that comes according to international market prices fluctuates. 

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Speaking at the meeting, Deputy CEO Rajbhandari said, 'Due to international problems, there have been some difficulties in the fertilizer purchase process. We have already sold 126,000 metric tons in the current year. Similarly, we currently have about 39,000 metric tons of chemical fertilizer in stock. All tender processes will be completed on time, but there will be problems in procurement due to lack of budget. The budget is always allocated in terms of amount, not quantity, when it comes. For example, it is specified as 20 billion, 28 billion. If the Government of Nepal specifies the quantity for 5.5 to 6 lakh tons of fertilizer, the corresponding budget should be allocated. But because the amount is specified, the quantity that comes with that amount always appears less. Currently, the situation is even more dire due to this major conflict.' 

He informed the parliament that the process for purchasing 95,000 metric tons of fertilizer for the upcoming fiscal year 2083/84 has been initiated as per the Ministry of Agriculture's directive. Under this, the tender for 30,000 tons of DAP has been completed and the purchase agreement has been signed, while the tender process for 30,000 tons of Urea is also underway. 

He said that the technical proposal for the remaining 30,000 tons of fertilizer has been opened and the price bid will be opened within 2-3 days. For MOP (Potash), the tender process for 5,000 tons has been completed, of which 2,500 tons have arrived in Nepal and the remaining 2,500 tons are in the transportation process. He stated that verbal assurance has been received from the supplier that 30,000 tons of Urea will arrive in Nepal by the end of Ashar, and if that fertilizer arrives on time, about 70,000 metric tons of fertilizer can be sent to the market along with the currently available 39,000 tons. 

Deputy CEO Rajbhandari pointed out that the limited capacity of the Kolkata port is the biggest challenge in fertilizer import. He said that even though Nepal plans to import 600,000 to 800,000 metric tons of fertilizer, the Kolkata port cannot handle such a quantity. He informed that a concrete agreement has not been reached between the governments of Nepal and India to use alternative ports, and using the Visakhapatnam (Vizag) port is only possible through Indian companies, which requires re-export permission. 

However, looking at the data from the past few years, he claimed that fertilizer supply has been gradually improving, and although the situation where farmers get as much fertilizer as they want has not been fully achieved, there has not been a situation where fertilizer is not available at all.