Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) says the rate of inflation has led to the recent hike in the price of fertiliser.
The Executive Secretary, FEPSAN, Mr Gideon Negedu, said in Lagos on Monday that the current inflation rate has affected the cost of fertiliser production.
“The current inflation rate has affected the cost of commodities across board and fertiliser is not exempted. Everything has gone up.
“What we have tried to do is to work with the government to be able give whatever support to reduce the price of fertiliser.
“The current hike in the price of fertiliser is a function of many things. For instance, two of the major raw materials we use in the production of fertiliser are imported.
“And we do not have control over the prices coupled with the depreciation of the currency.
“What we have done is to engage the producer countries so that we can get discounts on bulk purchase of fertiliser,” he said.
The FEPSAN scribe also said that the Russian and Ukraine crisis had affected the cost of fertiliser and its entire cost of production.
He said: “Increments in production cost have risen from between 20 to 30 per cent to about 300 per cent, this has never happened before.
“This increment started with COVID -19 pandemic and now the Russia and Ukraine crisis has escalated it’’.
He noted that the major raw materials the association was receiving for the production of fertiliser was from Russia.
“We have signed an agreement with the Russian government but as a result of this crisis we cannot access items.
“We are liaising with the presidency to see how we can source these vital raw materials from Canada but the price is off the roof.
“With all the issues we are facing, we have to deal with foreign exchange, transportation cost and other miscellaneous so we have to factor this into production cost,” he said.
Negedu appealed to the Federal Government to support the association with raw materials, pointing out that it had given the best support it could since the association engaged it.
“If we can subsidise the cost at fertiliser production, then we will be able to help farmers meet up,’’ he said.
The executive secretary added that the demand for fertiliser was also reducing because of the cost.
