M`SIAN GOVT CAN`T FORCE FERTILISER COMPANIES TO REDUCE PRICE

KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian government cannot force
local fertiliser manufacturers to reduce the price of the commodity despite the
drop in the price of petroleum and urea this year, said Agriculture and
Agro-based Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed.

He said the ministry had regular meetings with the fertiliser companies to
urge them to reduce the price of the commodity to a reasonable level in line
with the prices of petroleum and urea.

"The government is concerned about the substantial rise in the price of
fertilisers last year which was linked to the steep rise in the prices of
petroleum or urea, pushing up the price of fertiliser by about a hundred per
cent," he told the Lower House of Parliament sitting Wednesday.

He said this when replying to Siringan Gubat, a government MP who wanted to
know the measures taken by the government to reduce the price of fertilisers so
that smallholders could enjoy better income.

Mustapa said the higher cost of raw materials had forced the local
fertiliser companies to raise prices besides the rising price of the commodity
in the international market.

He said local fertiliser companies produced about 40 per cent of the local
needs while the rest were imported from Egypt, Jordan, Canada and Russia.

-- BERNAMA