By: Staff Writer
April 16, Colombo (LNW): Four Sri Lankan companies have planned to produce a Single Super Phosphate (SSP) fertilizer needed for the country.
Sustainable use of phosphate reserve will ensure providing raw material to produce soluble phosphate fertiliser fort least 200 years, several geological scientists.
It will use Eppawala Rock Phosphate from the North Central Province, which is suitable for paddy and other crops and can be used as a substitute for the Triple Super Phosphate Fertilizer or TSP, which is currently imported from foreign countries.
The annual cost of importing TSP fertilizer to Sri Lanka is about 3 billion rupees ($36 million), while most of these fertilizers were imported from Russia and neighboring countries.
Four local companies have taken the necessary steps to produce the fertilizer locally. The representatives of those companies recently met and discussed their plans with the country’s Minister of Agriculture, Mr Mahinda Amaraweera.
Sri Lanka requires about 15,000 metric tons of TSP fertilizer manually, which can be covered by local fertilizer manufacturing companies. Reportedly, the current stock of Single Super Phosphate fertilizer is nearly 4,000 metric tons, while producers can add up to the necessary number.
Minister Mahinda Amaraweera noted that fertilizer will be produced under the full supervision of the Department of Agriculture, and state-owned Lanka Fertilizer Company, while commercial companies will be responsible for distribution.
The government is venturing into public private partnership with suitable foreign investors for the manufacture of phosphate fertilisers making use of Eppawala rock phosphate deposit in the North Central Province, Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera.
Arrangements are being made to establish chemical fertiliser company jointly with the Lanka Phosphate Company operating under the Ministry of Agriculture.
Sufficient safeguards will be made against environmental damage and compenestion will be paid to people who are to be evacuated from surrounding areas due to the implementation of the new public private venture.
Lanka Phosphate Limited (LPL) is currently mining and processing to fulfill the local phosphate fertiliser requirement in the country, a high official of the company revealed.
LPL produces around 50,000 mt of Eppawala Rock Phosphate (ERP) annually, for local requirement and it supplies to the farmers through private and public fertiliser companies.
Currently it produces two types of rock phosphate fertilizers namely Eppawala Rock Phosphate (ERP) and High-Grade Eppawala Rock Phosphate (HERP) which are used as phosphate fertilizer for perennial crops in the country.
Measures are being taken to manufacture Single Super Phosphate (SSP), locally as the next immediate requirement in the industry, he disclosed.
After a lapse of nearly 25 years Lanka Phosphate has finally received necessary legal and statutory approvals to export Rock Phosphate, he added.
