The shutting down of the urea production unit of Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers (MCF) Ltd. since May 7 will not immediately create a shortage of fertilizer in the hinterland for kharif crops, according to MCF director K. Prabhakar Rao.
The water-intensive unit has been closed down due to water scarcity, after the Mangaluru City Corporation stopped water supply, two million gallons a day (MGD), to the company from the Thumbe vented dam.
In an informal chat with media on the sidelines of a meeting at the office of Deputy Commissioner here on Wednesday, Mr. Prabhakar Rao said that if the scarcity of water prolonged due to the late arrival of monsoon, then it could create some problem.
He said that now urea produced at the MCF was in stock at warehouses in the State. But past experience suggested that eight month production stock was consumed in four months of the kharif season.
MCF Ltd. has a market share of around 30 per cent to 40 per cent in the State. It produced 3.8 lakh tonnes of urea per annum.
The company supplied urea to markets in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Fertilizer
“Since fertilizer is an essential commodity as per the Essential Commodities Act, the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers decides on the movement plan of our product,” he said. The Ministry also factors in the possible shortfall in production while deciding on imports, he said.
He said that the country produced 21 million tonnes of fertilizer annually against the demand for 30 million tonnes. Fertilizer was normally sourced from China and West Asia.
MCF is the lone company in the State which manufactured urea, di-ammonium phosphate, NP 20:20:20:00:13, ammonium bicarbonate-food grade, sulphuric acid and other products.
MCF will stand to lose in terms of profits, loss of inventory, and wastage of raw material if the shutdown prolongs, he said.