The protracted strike of goods transporters has halted the supplies of thousands of tonnes of urea from the fertiliser plants located in this port city, said the industry sources. They said the dealers and farmers in the upcountry were desperately waiting for the DAP urea as the haulers’ strike has entered its fifth day.
Worst hit among the urea plants was the Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim Limited (FFBL) which during the last five days of strike saw over 25,000 tonnes of its DAP urea supplies not being transported to the farmers.
“If supplies of DAP are not restored immediately the sowing of wheat crop may be delayed and affected in major parts of the country, as the application of phosphates is highly recommended at the time of sowing,” said the officials at FFBL.
This, they claimed, was in addition to the fact that some political elements had also been harassing the truckers in transit at Hyderabad Toll Plaza on “clumsy grounds”. According to the officials, the intervention of higher authorities was needed to resolve the issue immediately in the best interest of the country.
They said the Fauji Fertiliser, being the only urea and DAP production plant situated in the outskirts of Karachi, was unable to transport it’s DAP and urea for the farmers across Pakistan. “This has created the shortage of DAP in upper parts of the country,” they said. On the other hand, the industry sources said the situation might result in a huge loss to the agriculture sector and the government’s wheat sowing target may also be adversely affected. “Pakistan being an agriculture economy cannot afford such situations,” said the sources adding that the indefinite strike by goods transporters had also badly affected the imports and exports from and to Pakistan.