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| India-Pakistan |
| Saudi Arabia says no to urea supply on deferred payment |
| 2008-10-25 |
| SLAMABAD: Saudi authorities have plainly refused to extend $400 million from its Development Fund for supply of urea fertiliser on deferred payment, official sources in the Economic Affairs Division told The News on Friday. “The Kingdom has serious concerns about smuggling of imported urea fertiliser from Pakistan to the Central Asian States through Chaman border,” an EAD official said. “We have differences over modalities but hopefully the Saudi Development Fund (SDF) may release the amount,” an official of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MINFAL) said when asked for comments. Besides a credit facility of $125 million for fertiliser, Pakistan has received Saudi credit facility of $133 million, which the Kingdom pledged after the devastating earthquake of 2005 and Pakistan imported urea fertiliser due to its shortfall in the country during the last couple of years. Federal Minister for Food, Agriculture and Livestock Nazar Mohammad Gondal, addressing a press conference at B block, told media that the finance minister has authorised MINFAL to import about 0.25 million tonnes of urea for the forthcoming Rabi season as it had released $100,000 for the purchase of the commodity through the Trading Corporation of Pakistan from the international market. After getting a nod from Saudi authorities, MINFAL with the consent of urea manufacturers are forwarding a summary to the ECC for permitting the private sector to import the commodity at their own and the government would pick the price differential under the head of subsidy. The availability of DAP and urea fertilisers for the coming Rabi season will be quite enough to meet the domestic consumption that is around 990,000 tonnes DAP and 2.6 million tonnes urea, said a statement distributed at the press conference. To ensure the food security, the government has planned to import an extra one million tonnes of wheat thus totalling wheat import to 3.5 million tonnes against the previous import of 2.5 million tonnes for 2008-09, the statement added. The statement further said that up till now, the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) has contracted 1.7 million tonnes and 1.5 million tonnes of wheat have already arrived in the country. |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #1 sounds like next year they should be planting instead of waging jihad. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2008-10-25 11:17 |