The Ebonyi Fertilizer and Chemical Company Limited, says it has enough stock of the fertilizer for Nigerian farmers to execute all year farming activities.Prof. Ogbonnaya Chukwu, Director General of the plant, made the declaration on Thursday in Abakaliki in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Chukwu said that the plant is operating at optimum capacity but its problem was low patronage from buyers across the country.
“This development can be attributed to the harsh economic situation and other factors such as shortage of required raw materials.
“A bag of NPK fertilizer sold for N8,500 in 2021 is currently sold at N20,000.
“The main raw material for the produce is Muriate Of Potash (MOP) and Russia is its world’s second largest producer.
“The country’s invasion of Ukraine which is also a producer of the raw material, had made its importation almost impossible,” he said.
He noted that Nigeria made concerted efforts to import the raw materials in five vessels in February but they were stuck on the black sea when the conflict began.
“President Muhammadu Buhari had to intervene before fertilizer blending plants in the country accessed MOP in July.
“The situation led to the astronomical hike of the price of raw material from the N7,917 it sold for a bag in 2021 to N32,648 in 2022,” he said.
“Diamonius Phosphate (DAP), another raw material used in producing fertilizer, presently sells for N23,000 a bag against the N9,197 it sold in 2021,” he said.
Chukwu said that the plant is also battling with the problem of power which made it depend heavily on diesel for production activities.
“We currently procure a litre of diesel for N830 as the Ukrainian invasion also affected crude oil production.
“The Federal Government can remedy the situation by subsidising the cost of raw materials in order to reduce production costs.
“We also urge relevant authorities to check the diversion of the raw materials because individuals who divert them make triple of what we, the blending plants, make,” he said.
