January 25, 2022 (MLN): Pakistan’s urea sales dropped by 32% to 599,000 tonnes in December 2021 when compared to 881,000 tonnes in the corresponding month of last year due to its availability issues, the National Fertilizer Development Company (NFDC) showed in its monthly report.
The report noted that the price of 50 kg bag of urea (sona) and urea (other) in the domestic market during the said month decreased by 4.2% and 5.6% to Rs1,971 and Rs1,864, respectively over November 2021.
In the international market, fob bulk China urea prices fluctuated around $873-1,000/t. while bulk Arabian Gulf urea price was quoted at $864-973/t.
Province-wise, urea offtake decreased by 24%, 49%, 35% and 44% in Punjab, Sindh, KP and Balochistan, respectively.
Outlook for Rabi 2021-22
The Rabi 2021-22 season started on a positive note with an opening inventory of 116,000 tonnes of urea. Domestic production of urea during Rabi 2021-22 is estimated at around 3,119,000 tonnes. Meanwhile, it is expected that the country will import 100,000 tonnes of urea from China during February 2022.
Urea offtake during current Rabi 2021-22 will be about 3,195,000 tonnes, against the total availability of 3,335,000 tonnes, leaving a closing balance of 152,000 tonnes for next season.
