Fertilizer offtake declines by 23% in Jan 2025

February 14, 2025 (MLN): The country’s total nutrient offtake in January 2025 was recorded at 290 thousand tonnes, reflecting a sharp decline of 23.2% compared to January 2024, according to the latest monthly fertilizer report issued by the National Fertilizer Development Centre (NFDC).

In nutrient terms, nitrogen and phosphate offtake decreased by 24.9% and 16.2%, respectively, while potash offtake saw a 26% increase.

Urea, DAP

Urea offtake stood at 446 thousand tonnes, marking a steep drop of 27.2% compared to 613 thousand tonnes in January 2024.

Similarly, DAP offtake declined by 8% to 61 thousand tonnes from 67 thousand tonnes in the same period last year.

Fertilizer Production and Supply

Total domestic fertilizer production in January 2025 was 748 thousand tonnes, with urea and DAP production reaching 531 and 45 thousand tonnes, respectively.

Other fertilizers produced included NP (79 thousand tonnes), CAN (74 thousand tonnes), SSP (6.2 thousand tonnes), NPKs (8 thousand tonnes), and SOP (4.3 thousand tonnes).

Total imported supplies stood at 74 thousand tonnes, comprising 65 thousand tonnes of DAP, 4.4 thousand tonnes of SOP, and 4.7 thousand tonnes of MOP.

Supply and Demand Situation

Urea availability in January 2025 was 891 thousand tonnes, including a carryover stock of 360 thousand tonnes from the previous month.

With an offtake of 446 thousand tonnes, the closing balance was recorded at 441 thousand tonnes.

DAP availability stood at 206 thousand tonnes, comprising 96 thousand tonnes of previous stock, 65 thousand tonnes of imported supply, and 45 thousand tonnes of domestic production.

DAP offtake was 61 thousand tonnes, leaving a closing balance of 146 thousand tonnes.

Domestic Price Trends

The prices of urea (Sona), urea (other), and CAN declined slightly by 0.5%, 0.7%, and 0.1%, respectively, during January 2025 as compared with the previous month.

On the other hand, prices of phosphate fertilizer products such as DAP, SOP, and NPK increased by 0.7%, 1%, and 0.2%, respectively.

The average price of urea (Sona), urea (other), and DAP was Rs4,527, Rs4,367, and Rs12,022 per 50 kg bag, respectively.

International prices

The price of urea in the Chinese market dropped by $9 per tonne in January 2025, while in the Arabian Gulf, it surged by $55 per tonne.

Urea prices were quoted as $230-242 and $360-415 per tonne FOB bulk for China and the Arabian Gulf, respectively.

DAP prices in Morocco increased by $12.5 per tonne, while prices in China remained stable.

In January 2025, prices ranged from $590-625 per tonne FOB bulk in Morocco and $615-625 per tonne FOB bulk in China.

Ex-Karachi price of imported urea ranged between Rs4,584 and Rs7,489 per 50 kg bag, while the price of imported DAP (Moroccan) was in the range of Rs10,834 to Rs11,408 per 50 kg bag.

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