Shelly-Ann Thompson, Staff Reporter

Tufton

A cheaper cost fertiliser may soon become a reality for local farmers as Minister of Agriculture Dr Christopher Tufton met with the commodity's manufacturers in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday.

Donovan Stanberry, permanent secretary at the ministry, confirmed that Dr Tufton was in the Latin American country on a one-day visit, meeting with fertiliser manufacturer Newport-Fersan.

Stanberry declined to provide details of the trip, noting that "the minister will make an announcement" after his arrival.

The Gleaner understands that Tufton also met with Venezuelan officials in the Dominican Republic to finalise a deal to source a raw material from that country to make the main farming ingredient.

Earlier this year, Tufton announced that the Government was in dialogue with Venezuela with a view to accessing raw materials required to manufacture the local fertiliser at a very competitive rate.

As in Jamaica, worldwide fertiliser prices have been on a steady increase. Last Monday, a $70-million subsidy, implemented by the Government in January on the price of fertiliser, ended.

Currently, distributors are paying roughly $3,000 per bag for the popular grades of fertilisers from Newport-Fersan's local branch.

Farmers are paying more as respective distributors add their markup prices.

shelly-ann.thompson@gleanerjm.com