We are now before a great discovery, thanks to a handful of lucky men who gained over LE 10 billion in seven months only out of the blood and pains of the farmers. Those men are owners of fertilizer companies who seized the opportunity of high world prices early last March and played the ugliest ways of trickery and deception. They increased the prices of their products by 115% - 300%. A month ago, the world prices of fertilizers dropped by more than 50% in just a few days. However, fertilizer manufacturers in Egypt reduced prices only by 5% - 20%. The prime minister and a number of his ministers strongly defend this great discovery that says: "Egypt has a once-in-a-lifetime chance to immediately liberate the market of fertilizers and apply the system of supply and demand for this vital commodity that plunders over LE 1 billion yearly as a direct subsidization from the government." The whole story is nothing but a well-organized crime of deception committed by several bodies that exploited the absence of real representatives of farmers in the People's Assembly and the Shura Council, specialized correspondents in papers or a syndicate for the farmers. Therefore, they poured the mass media with exposed false news and figures. From behind that formidable barrier of absence and ignorance, a group of strong men pounced on the farmers and seized more than LE 10 billion of their blood in just a few months. High world prices of fertilizers is not a justification for increasing prices in Egypt for a simple reason: this industry's inputs are local that have been got by private sector companies from the government at very low prices topped by the natural gas that is used in producing azotic and phosphate fertilizers. In addition, the salaries of workers at those plants have not increased. The price of phosphoric acid increased from LE 2000 a ton before March 2008 to LE 6500 till last September 30; calcium nitrate from LE 880 to LE 2400; and nitric acid from LE 800 to LE 2200. All these inputs are 100% local and monopolized by a single plant that was bought by a lucky person from the public sector. Seriously enough, the Ministry of Investment closed Suez Fertilizers Company that used to produce ammonia sulfate under the pretext that the company is in need of US$ 3 billion to have its instrument maintained. Therefore, companies at the free zones had a historic chance to gain billions of pounds from exporting their products to world markets. In addition, such a decree led to the disappearance of ammonia sulfate from Egypt! Even the azotic fertilizers that the government alleges it subsidizes increased from LE 704 to LE 1500 a ton. Speaking to Al-Ahram daily, board chairman of Abu Qir Fertilizer Company disclosed that his company gained LE 960 million in the last fiscal year. He added that most of those profits were made after increasing prices by 115%. Therefore, the question now is: where is the subsidy about which the government rhapsodizes? Liberating the sector of fertilizers may lead to a decrease in prices in Egypt only if the government imported fertilizers and provided farmers with them with a small profit margin, but if this gang was allowed to achieve its criminal scheme and be the manufacturers, exporters and importers of fertilizers would seize another LE 10 billion out of the blood of farmers and consumers.
