The Minister of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry, Branislav Nedimović, stated that 70,000 tons of mineral urea fertilizer will arrive on the market. The Minister stated that there are enough nitrogen fertilizers for winter feeding of wheat on the Serbian market.
Nedimović added that urea will also be used for fertilizing corn, and that Serbia will have all 400,000 tons of artificial fertilizers at its disposal, and that the state aid measure will start on January 24 through bank loans for the purchase of mineral fertilizers.
As he said, the possibility of short-term loans of up to three years with a grace period of up to one year has been agreed with 10 commercial banks.
According to him, the loans are negotiated by the producers, and the state finances the entire interest.
“That means that a ton of fertilizer, which costs 920 euros, costs 850 euros if it is bought for cash, which means that the state pays about 70 euros per ton,” Nedimović explained.
Another measure of assistance is the abolition of the 10% customs duty for the purchase of nitrogen fertilizers from third world countries, ie from Arab and Far Eastern countries where there is enough of these fertilizers.
According to Nedimović, the price of urea was recently between 620 and 630 dollars per ton in Constanta and the Baltic ports. In Serbia, these prices are expected in a few days, and it is certain that they will continue to fall.
The Minister added that currently the price of wheat for harvest at the end of June and the beginning of July has already reached 28 dinars, plus value added tax (VAT), which is almost twice as much as last year, Biznis reports.
