About 95,000 tonnes of fertilizer in stock: Minister Adhikari

लगानी न्यूज

२५ असार २०८२, बुधबार १६:२०July 9, 2025

Kathmandu. Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development Ramnath Adhikari has said that the government has been providing fertilizers to the farmers on the basis of the provision of ‘Subsidized Fertilizer Distribution Management Directive- 2077 BS’.

Responding TAG_OPEN_div_34 to queries raised by lawmakers in today’s meeting of the House of Representatives( HoR), he said that at present the purchase price of urea fertilizer is Rs 82 per kg and the selling price of customs point is Rs 14 per kg.

“TAG_OPEN_div_32 The purchase price of DAP is Rs 121 per kg and the selling price of customs point is Rs 43 per kg, the purchase price of potash is Rs 64 per kg and the selling price of customs point is Rs 31 per kg. Accordingly, on an average, there is about 66 percent subsidy on fertilizer. ’

Minister Adhikari said that in addition to the fertilizers provided on subsidy, other fertilizers that are not subsidized are also purchased and used by the farmers from the open market, adding that some farmers of the border areas informally bring fertilizers from the Indian market across the border in small quantities. TAG_OPEN_div_30

According to him TAG_OPEN_div_28, in some cases, the farmers use fertilizers even after purchasing it through open market and other means, even though the entire amount of subsidized fertilizer is not available as per the recommendation.

“TAG_OPEN_div_26 The ministry is active in providing fertilizers to the farmers by importing chemical fertilizers from the international market within the limits of the available budget,” he said, adding that 381,000 tonnes of fertilizers have been imported and 424,000 tonnes have been sold so far from the budget of Rs 27.36 billion received by the ministry for the current fiscal year.

In addition TAG_OPEN_div_24 to this, 52,000 tonnes of urea and 30,000 tonnes of DAP have already arrived or are on the way to the Port of Calcutta and paddy is our main food crop and the demand and consumption of fertilizers in the paddy crop is the highest.

“At present, around TAG_OPEN_div_22 95,000 tonnes of fertilizers are in stock at the depots of Agricultural Materials Company Limited and Salt Trading Corporation across the country, while around 11,000 fertilizer vendors across the country are collecting around 20,000 quintals (40,000 sacks) of fertilizer daily from the depots mentioned on the recommendation of the respective local levels,” he said. । ’

Minister Adhikari informed the Parliament TAG_OPEN_div_20 that although the annual requirement of fertilizer is about 13 metric tons based on the recommended quantity of cultivated crops and fertilizers, the effective demand for fertilizer is about 700,000 to 800,000 tons due to the low use of fertilizers as per the recommendation in the middle and high hills.

Stating TAG_OPEN_div_18 that the demand for fertilizers has been increasing at a high rate with the increase in hybrid maize and rice cultivation in recent years, he said that in the last few years, about 450,000 to 500,000 metric tons have been provided annually on subsidy.