Financial Times

Dispute over urea subsidy figures
The urea fertilizer subsidy announced last week would cost the Treasury much more that the one billion rupees that the government announced at a press conference last week, The Sunday Times FT learns.

Finance Minister Dr Sarath Amunugama had said the government has set aside Rs 1 billion to meet the additional subsidy of Rs 200 per 50 kg bag of urea, The Sunday Times FT however learns that at prevailing urea prices in the world market, the subsidy would cost between Rs 1.5 and 1.75 billion.

The government contention is based on calculations that urea per metric ton would be at US $ 200 in the world market whereas according to fertilizer importers it would be between US $ 205 and 210. According to an official of the National Fertilizer Secretariat (NFS) tenders worked out recently to purchase urea was at the rate of US $ 204. But importers say that a ton of urea would go up to US $ 210.

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