More Scope for Price Cutting

of urea is generated in the process of producing ammonia itself. Given the much publicised fact that fertiliser application in the country has too heavily concentrated on nitrogen whereas soils usually need a balanced application of nitrogen, phosphates and potash, a production programme for complex fertilisers may per se be taken to be a step in the right direction. This, however, docs not necessarily follow. In fact, assessment of the correct mix of fertilisers for particular regions and organising of its availability there, are neglected, though important areas in fertiliser planning. In the early scramble for quite simply 'creating indigenous capacity' in fertilisers, it seemed natural to concentrate on nitrogen which is the first most obvious, easily attainable, nutrient. As the technological shortcomings of continued over-use of nitrogen have become evident and as the overall yield from the hybrid varieties has begun to level off, demand for fertilisers has failed to increase as planned. Shorter than expected order books, and stocks accumulation with fertiliser manufacturers in spite of the overall 'shortage' of fertiliser in the country, bore witness to this.