Sri Lanka is currently experiencing an acute shortage of rock phosphate, a key ingredient used in the manufacturing of fertilizers for tea, rubber and coconut, the industry sources said.
According to a leading fertilizer manufacturer in Sri Lanka, the supply of phosphate has been deteriorating during the past six weeks and has reached a critical point.
State-owned Lanka Phosphate Limited (LPL) is the only company that provides rock phosphate in the country and the company has exclusive mining rights over 450 hectares of land in Eppawala, where a large rock phosphate deposit is located.
LP Ltd meets more than 60 pc of the entire phosphorus fertilizer requirements of the country’s plantation sector. The products of Lanka Phosphate are only sold in the domestic market place.
Lanka Phosphate Ltd Chairman Jaliya Kulasekera has confirmed the phosphate shortage due to certain production and supply side constraints but assured that the situation would be rectified within a few days.
“The Chinese-built grinding mill we have installed has broken down and currently we are fixing it. It’s not easy to find the technology and the spare parts required since we are the only people who operate phosphate grinding mills in the country,” Kulasekera said.
