Govt to implement urea sale in 45 kg bag from next year

Urea, the commonly used and highly subsidised fertiliser, will be sold in the market from next year in a 45 kg bag instead of 50 kg bag, a senior fertiliser ministry official said today.
A 45 kg urea bag will be sold at Rs 245 plus taxes, which is lower than Rs 268 plus taxes charged for a 50 kg urea bag, the official added.
"The planning is being done. The companies are ready for this change. They will print 45 kg bags. It will be implemented from next year," the official told PTI.
The purpose is to reduce urea consumption and promote balanced use of fertilisers, he said.

Since urea is cheaper than other fertilisers, farmers are using this product widely. It is highly subsidised by the government and the maximum retail price now stands at Rs 5,360 per tonne.
"We thought about various measures to reduce the urea consumption. Neem coating of urea was one. That we have implemented. Now, we are looking at the 45 kg bag," the official explained.

Normally, farmers use urea by counting number of bags for each hectare of land. "When we tell farmers to reduce number of 50 kg bags, they do not listen. So, we have decided to use the 45 kg urea bag trick to reduce consumption," he said.

Farmers will buy Rs 45 kg bag and use the same number of bags as used earlier. This will indirectly lead to 10 per cent reduction in consumption, the official added.
Annual urea subsidy is around Rs 40,000 crore. The country is producing over 24 million tonnes of urea since last year, sufficient to meet the demand of 22 million tonnes.