FACT-Railways clash hits transportation of urea

KOCHI: The shortage of fertilisers may worsen in the coming days as the urea imported by the Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd (FACT) is yet to be transported from  Willington Island. FACT officials are blaming the Railway authorities for not allotting them a rake for transporting the urea. “We asked the Railway authorities for a half rake. But they are insisting on hiring a full rake which we do not need right now. The Railways said that they would be able to consider allotting a half rake only after December 12,” a senior official of the distribution department of FACT said.However, Southern Railway area manager George John said that FACT had not registered an indent for the rake with the Railways. “We, with the clearance from the headquarters, are ready to allot the rake once they register an indent,” he said.  The low rate clearance of imported fertilisers has had an adverse impact on the agricultural sector, at a time when the price of fertiliser is skyrocketing. “If the distribution gets delayed, it will further worsen the situation,” said the official.Around 24,000 tonnes of urea and 27,000 tonnes of potash reached Kochi in the second week of November. It has piled up at the Kochi port due to a shortage of loading workers.About 25 percent of India’s urea requirement is met through import. India requires around 28 million tonnes, of which import accounts for 8 million tonnes. FACT imports urea mainly from Gulf countries. Import of potash is 100 percent as there is no indigenous production.Meanwhile, the clearing of fertilisers is at a snail’s pace, according to the port authorities. Though the unions had expressed their willingness to clear the cargo as early as possible, at a meeting held on Tuesday, only around 800 tonnes is being cleared from the godown a day.