ISLAMABAD: The government is likely to allow further import of 0.1 million tonnes of urea immediately to meet domestic demand in Rabi season.

The decision was taken at a meeting of Fertilizer Review Committee (FRC) held on Tuesday to analyse demand and supply position and stock availability of urea for Rabi 2018-19.

The new import will be over and above 0.1 million of urea for which tenders have already been awarded by the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP).

The Managing Director National Fertilizer Marketing Limited (NFML) gave a detailed presentation to the committee on possible shortage of urea in the country.

There were some issues in figures presented by the managing director NFML but the domestic industry accepted those figures.

The price of imported urea is around Rs 2,900 per bag which is far higher than the price of domestic urea which implies that the subsidy on imported urea will be almost 100 percent.

The committee also decided that for price control over the fertilizer, help of provincial governments will be sought. Further, all running fertilizer plants should be kept operational to ensure optimal production and availability of fertilizer in the country.

In addition to representatives of all fertilizer plants, additional secretary Ministry of Industries & Production, managing director NFML and representatives from Finance, Petroleum and Commerce Divisions were also present in the meeting.—MUSHTAQ GHUMMAN