Ryots warn against urea price hike

CHENNAI: With prices of decontrolled fertilisers showing no signs of abating, farmers have slammed the Centre’s proposal to hike the price of urea by 10 per cent. They warn that it would increase the cost of cultivation and have a cascading effect on prices of commodities. The Centre was reportedly mulling a urea price hike to help reduce its subsidy burden. This followed the implementation of a draft urea policy formulated by a panel of ministers.Farmers argue that the Centre had succumbed to the designs of industries, which were lobbying for a price rise. According to the them, prices of almost all decontrolled fertilisers have doubled since the subsidy policy changed. The price of Di-Ammonium Phosphate was around Rs 18,000 per tonne at the beginning of the month, up from Rs 9,350 in 2010. Muriate of Potash showed the steepest rise, with current prices fixed at Rs 12,400, up from Rs 4,500 in 2010.  Compared to this, the price of urea had risen only by about 10 per cent in two years with the current prices fixed by the Centre at Rs 5,365. The proposed move would push the cost to around Rs 6,000 per tonne. Tamil Nadu government has already expressed dissatisfaction over the nutrient-based subsidy policy several times in the past. Farmer associations said they would launch large-scale protests in May if the Centre goes ahead with the proposed hike in urea price.