Fertiliser Association appeals to govt. to revise policy

The Fertiliser Association of India (FAI) on Thursday appealed to the Government of India to revise its policy with regards to fertiliser production, which they state has resulted in loss of urea production.

According to a release by FAI, a pricing policy for fertilizer, which had proven to be beneficial in the 1960s and 1970s during green revolution, have been unattractive of fresh investment and the existing industries are finding it hard to survive. The statement further stated that under the pricing policy of 2008, the existing urea plants are not being allowed to produce to their full revamped capacity.

"We feel that the industry must be completely decontrolled and as a first step, urea should be brought under NBS. The policies should encourage domestic production and discourage our dependence on imports, owing to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' initiative," said FAI chairman SS Nandurdikar.

"We feel that the government should act as a regulator and facilitate investment in production capacities in India and abroad. The present government also realises need for reforms and has stated in unequivocal terms that there is an excess usage of urea and hence wastage of Rs.8,500 crore during 2013-14," he added.

According to reports, there has been under-allocation for domestic urea production and over-allocation for imported urea. The FAI proposes that an additional allocation of Rs. 30,000 crore through supplementary grants should be made by the government to clear the backlog and make the payment of bills up to February 2015 both for urea and phosphorous and potassium fertilizers.