IT is heartening to note that Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority has reduced the price of feed-gas used in the fertiliser production from Rs200 per MMBTU to Rs123.

The fertiliser manufacturers have thanked the government for this gesture andhave passed onitsrobust beneHts to the farmer community. Therefore, the urea price has already been slashed by Rs60 per bag. A urea bag now costs Rs1,790, down from the previous Rs1,850.

The experts say that the urea price is likely to be further reduced over the coming weeks as the country does have enough urea stocks. This way the farmers can talce maximum advantage of cheaper urea off-take during the cultivation of various major crops like cotton, rice and sugarcane in the forthcoming season.

As the fertiliser producers, government and farmers stand as partners to improve the crop yields through progressive farming, advisory services and research, the expertsforesee a sharp risein ureademand, expecting the prices to come further down.

The industry`s total production figures currently stood at 5.5 million tonnes, while the demand hovers between 5.1 and 5.4 million tonnes. The industry officials are hopeful that the rising fertiliser production, with sufficient gas supplies, is likely to push manufacturers to seek government`s permission for exports.

Over the years, Pakistan`s fertiliser industry had also been subjected to a heavy rate for feedstock gas along with the imposition of the gas infrastructure development cess (GIDC), making it difficult to compete with imported urea.

The industry had long been demanding a downward revision in GIDC, especially in the wake of rapidly falling international urea prices. Now we can hope for a brighter, greenerfuture ofPakistan.

Muhammad Sagheer Islamabad