February 23, 2021 (MLN): The overall urea offtake during the month of January 2021 was 649 thousand tonnes, which witnessed an increase of 147.8 per cent as compared to the offtake of 262 thousand tonnes in January 2020.
According to the monthly report issued by National Fertilizer Development Centre (NFDC), the cumulative urea offtake during Rabi 2020-21 (October-January) was 2,475 thousand tonnes, showing an increase of 17.4 percent as compared to the same period of last year.
During January 2021, urea offtake increased by 159, 186, 12 and 48 percent in Punjab, Sindh, KP and Balochistan, respectively.
Total urea availability during January 2021 was about 754 thousand tonnes, including an opening balance of 299 thousand tonnes and domestic production of 455 thousand tonnes. Urea offtake during January 2021 was 649 thousand tonnes. The closing balance at the end of January 2021 was 99 thousand tonnes.
‘During Rabi 2020-21, total availability of urea is estimated to be around 3,429 thousand tonnes. This includes 473 thousand tonnes of opening balance and 2,956 thousand tonnes of domestic production. The offtake during Rabi 2020-21 is expected to be 3,309 thousand tonnes leaving behind 155 thousand tonnes of opening balance for coming Kharif 2021’, the report said.
‘Pocket shortages of urea may be observed during February and March 2021 as a result of closure of two LNG based plants. Opening of Kharif season 2021 with 155 thousand tonnes is not a healthy sign for market forces as well for farmers. Inventory less than 200 thousand tonnes reflect shortages and the dealers can easily manipulate the prices’, it added.
