• TU slams reliance on private sector imports 

The National Agrarian Union warned of a looming fertiliser crisis, accusing the Government of failing to prepare adequately and cautioning that Sri Lanka’s agriculture sector, food security and economy could face severe consequences if urgent action is not taken.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (12), the Union’s President, Anuradha Tennakoon, rejected Government claims that the country has sufficient fertiliser stocks for the next two years, saying information from reliable sources suggests otherwise.

“Deputy Agriculture Minister, Namal Karunarathne, said the country has fertiliser for another two years. But even a child knows that chemical fertilisers like urea cannot be stored for that long without dissolving and their chemical composition changing,” Tennakoon said.

He also accused the authorities of depending heavily on private companies for fertiliser imports despite the existence of several State institutions mandated to ensure national supplies.

“There is the National Fertiliser Secretariat, the Ceylon Fertiliser Company Limited (Lakpohora), and the Colombo Commercial Fertiliser Company Ltd. Yet none of these offices import even a small quantity of fertiliser. It is a handful of private companies that handle all imports,” he charged.

Tennakoon further questioned the Government’s procurement strategy, claiming that fertiliser could be purchased at lower prices from Russia but that tenders are instead awarded to private companies at higher rates.

Although fertiliser prices have not yet surged sharply, he warned that prolonged geopolitical tensions could trigger dramatic increases.

He cautioned that if global conflicts continue, fertiliser prices could rise by more than 200 per cent.

“We also have news from internal sources that, justifying the situation in the Middle East, the price of already stocked fertiliser within the country may also rise,” he said.

According to Tennakoon, the price of a 50 kilogram bag of urea could soon rise to between Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 20,000.

“The world is already concerned about food security. If we face a fertiliser shortage on top of that, it will hit the economy very badly,” he said, adding that Sri Lanka currently produces no fertiliser of its own, whether chemical, organic or hybrid.

His remarks come amid rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, a key global fertiliser production hub. According to reports, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar and Egypt together account for 49 per cent of global urea exports.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has also warned about growing threats to global food security.

Despite these concerns, the Sri Lankan Government has maintained that the country possesses sufficient food stocks to last for an extended period.

Deputy Agriculture Minister Karunarathne, as well as the three State-owned fertiliser institutions – the National Fertiliser Secretariat, the Ceylon Fertiliser Company, and the Colombo Commercial Fertiliser Company – were not available for comment.