Fertiliser sales down 3pc in 2011

Fertiliser offtake in Pakistan declined by three per cent to 8.4 million tonnes during CY2011. “Interestingly, urea sales posted a decline of three per cent to 5.9 million as non-availability of urea remains the major issue due to lower production of urea, down five per cent to 4.9 million tonnes, and subdued imports during most of the period,” said Farhan Mahmood of Topline Securities. Similarly, the analyst said, DAP sales remained dipped by 15 per cent to 1.1 million tonnes during 2011 primarily due to higher prices. On the other hand, sales of other fertilisers CAN, NP and NPK posted a cumulative increase of 11 percent to 1.3 million tonnes mainly stemming from non-availability and higher prices of mainstream fertiliser products that forced farmers towards relatively cheaper alternatives. In December 2011 alone, according to NFDC, urea sales were up 12 per cent to 704,000 tonnes as against 626,000 tonnes in the same month last year. While DAP sales were up 26 perc ent to 114,000 tonnes from 90,000 tonnes for the same period under review. On MoM basis, total fertiliser offtake improved by 35 per cent, with urea sales rising by 55 per cent as better urea availability, thanks to higher import of 331,000 tonnes in December, led farmers to build stocks before getting into peak winter season when most of the plants are expected to remain closed due to gas curtailment. Moreover, urea production plunged by 15 per cent to only 369,000 tonnes in December 2011. On the other hand, DAP sales posted a decline of 29 per cent to 114,000 tonnes. Company wise data reveals that FFC’s urea sales declined by three per cent in 2011, with December sales decreasing by 16 per cent YoY to 201,000 tonnes. Engro posted an increase of 33 per cent in urea sales during 2011 due to added production from its new EnVen plant with December sales at 107,000 tonnes. For FFBL, DAP sales remained almost flat during 2011 (December sales down 20 per cent YoY to 57,500 tonnes) while urea sales declined by 17 per cent in 2011 (December sales down by 47 per cent to 32,300 tonnes) primarily due to higher gas curtailment on Sui network.