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Import of chemical fertilisers: Finance Minister yet to sign the gazette
The Finance Minister is yet to sign the gazette allowing the private sector to import chemical fertiliser, causing further delays in agrochemicals reaching the farmers, a senior Treasury official said.
The Treasury’s Imports and Exports Control Department is still waiting for the gazette to be cleared and signed by the Finance Minister after the inclusion of necessary inputs from the Agriculture Ministry, the official said.
However on Friday, Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage told Parliament that the relevant gazette was expected to be issued by Friday through the Ministry of Finance.
In the aftermath of widespread protests by farmers and skyrocketing vegetable prices in recent weeks, the Government reversed its green agriculture policy to announce that it would allow the private sector to import chemical fertilisers, pesticides and weedicides from Wednesday, assuring that a gazette notification would follow within days.
The new gazette notification will replace the earlier gazette issued by the then Finance Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on May 6. The earlier gazette banned the import of chemical fertilisers and other agrochemicals under the Imports and Exports (Control) Act.
Stressing that the Government would go ahead with its green agriculture policy despite the private sector being allowed to import chemical fertiliser, Minister Aluthgamage told the reporters at the post-Cabinet news briefing that a mechanism would be introduced by the Government to monitor and regulate imported fertiliser.
Earlier this week, the Pesticides Registrar who issued a gazette lifting the prohibition of several chemicals was removed by the Agriculture Minister on the basis the minister or the senior officials were not consulted before issuing the gazette.
Earlier the Government maintained that through its ambitious green agriculture policy, it prevented the outflow of USD 400 million spent annually for the importation of chemical fertiliser.
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