Fertilizer Prices Double Despite Subsidies, Says Damot Union Manager
Despite a 3,700 birr per quintal subsidy, fertilizer prices have doubled, with DAP now costing 7,835 birr and urea 6,113 birr, amid delays in distribution due to security issues in the Amhara region.
'Although a subsidy of 3,700 birr per quintal of fertilizer was provided, the price has still doubled,' says Mr. Agerie Tsegabu.
The Damot Union in the Amhara region announced that the price of fertilizer for the 2017/18 production season, despite the subsidy, has doubled.
Mr. Agerie Tsegabu, the manager of the union, told Reporter newspaper that although the federal government provided a subsidy of 3,700 birr per quintal of fertilizer, the price has still doubled.
Comparing the current price with last year's, he recalled that a quintal of DAP fertilizer was 3,700 birr, but now it has reached 7,835 birr. Similarly, a quintal of urea, which was 3,650 birr last year, has now risen to 6,113 birr.
He stated that out of the fertilizer requested by the union, 80,000 quintals are DAP and 72,000 quintals are urea, while the planned requirement is 1.76 million quintals.
Including imports, the union purchases DAP for 11,000 birr per quintal without adding profit, while urea costs up to 10,000 birr, he explained.
Due to the security issues in the region, only 152,000 quintals of fertilizer have reached the Damot Union from Ejeba to West Gojjam so far, which is delayed compared to last year, he added.
The newspaper also recalled that at the national level, a budget of 1.3 billion dollars and 156 billion birr has been allocated for fertilizer procurement.
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