Neria Investments Limited has also refuted allegations that the company was supplying over-priced fertilizer to government at US$ 1,200 per ton when the commodity was trading around US$ 400 per ton on the international market.
Company General Manager Martin Chaikatisha stated that Neria Investments was supplying the commodity at a price way below US$ 1,000 per ton in the 2020/2021 farming season.
Chaikatisha said that in-fact, Neria Investments was the cheapest supplier of fertilizer in the 2020/2021 farming season compared to the other five companies that participated in the supply of the commodity to government.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Chaikatisha noted that the company supplied about 135, 000 metric tonnes of both D-Compound and Urea to government in the 2020/2021 farming season.
He further stated that the fertiliser supply contracts were being awarded by way of public tender and that the ministry of Agriculture has all the contracts and the final prices for the five key suppliers which they can share with the media and the public.
Efforts by ZBT to get the ministry of Agriculture to confirm which companies supplied fertilizer at an exorbitant price of about US$1,200 per ton proved futile by time of publishing.
The large scale fertilizer trading companies have been accused of overpricing government contracts charging prices that are way overboard. But the major suppliers have indicated that their final prices were below the US$1,200 per ton.
And President Hakainde Hichilema during a separate briefing revealed that his predecessor government were buying fertilizer at US$ 1,200 per ton from its contracted suppliers at the time when the commodity was selling between US$400-US$450 on the international market.
“When the fertilizer world prices were US$400-US$450 per ton, our colleagues deliberately, consciously were buying fertilizer using taxpayer’s money at US$ 1, 200 per ton, you multiply that by 300, 000 metric tonnes”, President Hichilema said.
Before assuming office after the 12 August elections, President Hakainde Hichilema then main opposition leader promised to cut the retail prices of a 50kg bag of fertilizer from a range of K700-K800, which was the price at the time to about K250.
However, it remains to be seen if his new dawn UPND administration will be able to deliver on this promise to cut down the price of Fertilizer as international fertiliser prices have been increasing in the last six months.
Some analyst have indicated that local manufacturing may be the answer to cutting the prices of Fertilizer in Zambia as importing bulk commodities such as fertilizer has steep shipping , insurance and freight costs which result in higher landing costs . More to follow…
