SL’S fertilizer companies restrict imports

Sri Lanka’s fertilizer importing companies have restricted imports as they are facing serious liquidity problems due to the government’s failure to reimburse accumulated subsidy payments running up to Rs. 16 billion, importers said. There was shortage of fertilizer in several plantation areas in the island as a result of the restriction of imports.

The Treasury recently paid Rs.2 billion to settle last year’s arrears of fertilizer subsidy re-imbursements but it has to pay at least Rs. 16 billion to A Baur & Co, CIC Agri Business, Hayleys Agro Fertilizers, AgStar Fertilizers Ltd and McLarens International which have imported fertilizer, a spokesman for the local fertilizer importers, said. The Treasury is burdened with the task of making these payments from the annual budget allocation with the assistance of National Fertilizer Secretariat (NFS).

A National Fertilizer Secretariat (NFS) senior official told the Business Times that the delay in making subsidy re-imbursements was due to heavy paper work and financial constraints of the government.

The Finance Ministry is planning to issue a directive to all relevant institutions to manage the fertilizer subsidy more effectively and efficiently, targeting only the farmers, who are in need of the subsidy, If targeting could save even one third of the fertilizer subsidy, this would reduce government expenditure by one per cent, Finance Ministry sources said.