Hyderabad: Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao has urged the Central Government to supply more urea to the state. He highlighted that the demand for urea will be high in August and is crucial for crops like rice, cotton, and maize. Delays in supply could harm crop production.
The state currently has only 1.09 lakh metric tons of urea available. To meet the anticipated demand, at least 3 lakh metric tons are needed this month. From April 1 to July 31, the state expected 6.60 lakh metric tons of urea, but only 4.51 lakh metric tons were received. During this period, farmers used 5.70 lakh metric tons from existing stocks.
For August, the central government allocated 1.70 lakh metric tons of urea, with 1.31 lakh metric tons from domestic production and 0.39 lakh metric tons imported. The minister noted that shipment details for the imported urea are still pending. Additionally, expected supplies of 11,000 metric tons from PPL and 7,000 metric tons from MCFL will not be delivered as planned.
Minister Rao wrote to Union Minister JP Nadda to address the shortage of 2.10 lakh metric tons that should have been supplied between April and July. He also mentioned an 18,000 metric tons shortfall for August from PPL and MCFL, suggesting that RFCL should make up for this deficit. He stressed that the 39,600 metric tons of imported urea must arrive by the 20th of this month, along with the outstanding 2.10 lakh metric tons, to meet needs.
The minister called on the Centre to act quickly to ensure urea availability for the state’s ongoing crop cultivation.
