The Hindu Business Line : Cabinet Secretary convenes DAP meet

THE Cabinet Secretary, Mr B.K. Chaturvedi, will convene a meeting on Friday to take stock of the availability of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP). This comes in the midst of reports of shortages and hoarding, affecting sowing of wheat and other rabi crops.

The meeting is being held at the instance of the Agriculture Ministry, which has laid the blame for the shortfall on the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers.

The Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Co-operation, Ms Radha Singh, told presspersons on Wednesday: "We had been warning about a possible shortage and requesting the Department of Fertilisers to ensure timely availability of DAP."

According to her, the need for adequate stocks was felt more in the light of late monsoon rains, which had encouraged farmers to go in for early rabi sowing.

DAP, unlike urea or other fertilisers, is required particularly at the time of sowing since phosphorous is a starter nutrient crucial for root establishment and formation. "Given the inadequate stocks with various companies, the department should have arranged for timely imports to be undertaken. After all, it is they who co-ordinate supplies, whereas we (Agriculture Ministry) only indicate the requirement during the season," Ms Singh said.

The Department of Fertilisers, on the other hand, has claimed that the availability of DAP has been `satisfactory' so far. The requirement of DAP for the current rabi season, as per the Agriculture Ministry's assessment, is about 39.4 lakh tonnes (lt). As against this, 20.91 lt has been made available till November 24, with sales amounting to 17.55 lt.

The actual problem though is the decline in production particularly during 2003-04. While total domestic production of DAP was 48.89 lt in 2000-01, 50.95 lt in 2001-02 and 52.41 lt in 2002-03, it plummeted to 47.32 lt in 2003-04.

Although production during April-October 2004 at 31.30 lt was higher than the 25.08 lt in the corresponding period last year, there was a simultaneous dip in imports from 5.78 lt in April-October 2003 to 2.58 lt in April-October this year. The fall in imports were mainly due to an escalation in international DAP prices to about $275 per tonne, from last year's $100 levels.

Officials said the current situation has been caused mainly due to artificial shortages from hoarding and manipulation by dealers. "They knew that there would be heavy demand in the initial part of the season because of farmers going in for early sowing this time. DAP supplies were, therefore, deliberately held up, leading to farmers paying exorbitant prices in certain areas," they said.

Currently, all fertilisers, barring urea, are decontrolled and the Centre makes no allocation. The task of tying up with suppliers and ensuring timely availability has been left to the State Governments.