Pak Finance Ministry refuses subsidy on phosphatic, potash fertilizers

Islamabad [Pakistan], March 28 : Amid a heavy financial crunch and International Monetary Fund (IMF) nudge over February 28 relief package and the March 1 industrial package, Pakistan Finance Ministry on Monday refused to increase subsidy on phosphatic and potash fertilizers.
Mushtaq Ghumman, writing in Business Recorder, said that the Ministry urged provinces to enhance their shares.
At a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), Secretary, of Finance Division, stated that agriculture is a provincial subject and therefore, it is the responsibility of the Provincial Government to provide subsidies to farmers.
He added that there is a serious financial constraint and the country is under the IMF program; therefore, any additional financial commitment is not supported.
He further observed that there is neither any information on the use of counterpart funding by the Provincial Governments nor any tracking system to gauge judicious utilization of subsidy amount by the provinces, reported Business Recorder.
After a detailed discussion, the ECC approved the proposal with the proviso that the Ministry of National Food Security and Research will take up the issue with the Provincial Governments to increase their share in the subsidy due to the fact that the subject falls within the domain of the Provinces.
Pakistan meets around 84 per cent of its fertilizer requirement through local production while the remaining is met through imports, reported Business Recorder.