The first ship carrying 25,000 tonnes of urea fertiliser will anchor at Gwadar Port on Monday, sources in Trading Corporation of Pakistan said.
Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) has dispatched this consignment under a loan programme involving a total of $100 million, said sources. SABIC will provide another 25,000 tonnes of urea fertiliser to Pakistan within the month of July, said sources, adding that SABIC has dispatched the urea consignment two weeks ahead of its commitment with the TCP officials. Last month, TCP Chairman Anjum Bashir went to Saudi Arabia, seeking urea fertiliser for Pakistan under the annual loan programme.
During the meeting, SABIC officials said that they would send urea to Pakistan in the last days of July 2011, but on the request of TCP the SABIC dispatched the consignment before schedule. As a result, the first ship carrying 25,000 tonnes of fertiliser will reach Gwadar Port on Monday, said sources. They said that two more ships from China are bringing 50,000 tonnes of urea in the next couple of weeks. This would help the government in supplying fertilisers to farmers who are currently demanding it for sowing of rice paddy. TCP sources said that a total of 150,000 tonnes of urea is being imported within the next few weeks to stabilise stocks.
They said that the import of urea has forced hoarders to bring the mentioned fertiliser into the market; that has ended the artificial shortage of urea in the country.
