KARACHI: The total fertiliser off-take dwindled by 13 percent in the first nine months of 2010 and stood at 5.6 million tons in comparison to 6.4 million tons last year, according to the latest fertiliser data released by the National Fertiliser Development Centre.
The decrease was primarily associated with a massive slump in off-take during the month of August following the recent floods in the country.
However, the total fertiliser off-take during the month of September stood at 686,000 tons, declining by an annual two percent; while it registered a monthly growth of 65 percent, mainly on account of the DAP.
The DAP off-take reduced by an annual 38 percent in the nine months of 2010 and reached 681,000 tons subject to high DAP prices during the period. The DAP prices averaged Rs 2,512 per bag compared to Rs 1,949 per bag during the same period last year.
However, on a monthly basis, the off-take witnessed a complete turnaround and registered a massive growth of 410 percent primarily due to panic buying by dealers, who were concerned over the implementation of the revised general sales tax on October 1. A company wise break-up showed that Engro’s off-take declined by an annual 11 percent in the nine months of 2010, while a 40 percent decrease was seen for the FFBL.
The FFC managed to sell 18,000 tons of DAP, which it had imported during the earlier part of 2010. Graph of urea sales also sustained a decline as the off-take registered an annual fall of 10 percent and reached 4.2 million tons compared to 4.6 million tons in 2009.
The high urea prices and the recent floods were the chief reasons behind the shrink. In September alone, the urea off-take reduced by an annual 28 percent to reach 324,000, however it increased a monthly seven percent.
