No further urea import required this year: FMPAC

Fertiliser Manufacturers of Pakistan Advisory Council (FMPAC) has said that with the recent ECC decision to import 300,000 tons of urea, no further urea import required this year and even to the end of Rabi next year keeping in mind the available urea inventory in the country.
NFDC in latest report issued showed urea inventory at the close of July 2012 at around 400,000 tons, and with Kharif season demand is coming to end the urea inventory in the country is expected to pile up to above 800,000 ton by end of September 2012. Current off-take trend also highlight that any further imports will add to the already very high inventories, urea off-take during 8 months of 2012 reduced by 5 percent. It is expected that Kharif 2012 off-take will be down by 11 percent vs last year. Similar trend is expected to prevail during Rabi and with already concluded imports the country does not need any further imports, FMPAC claimed.
Executive Director of FMPAC Shahab Khawaja stated here on Monday that the country currently will have an inventory of 4 lakh tons of urea and added that the fertiliser industry is looking forward to the Fertilizer Review Committee scheduled next week by the Ministry of Industries. "We look forward in putting our point across with the Ministry that there is currently no need to import urea. We also hope the Ministry will support restoration of gas to the fertilizer plants as the local capacity is available to produce cheaper urea in the country."
Additional production upon restoration of gas will further help build buffer stocks in the country to cater for any possible upsurge in demand during upcoming Rabi. Since January 2011 till June 2012 the government has imported 2.2 million tons spending 1.1 billion dollars of foreign exchange and providing a subsidy of Rs 57 billion.
The approval by the ECC to import another 300,000 tons of urea is expected to cost the national exchequer a further 120 million dollars in foreign exchange and a subsidy of 4.2 billion rupees. Fertilizer industry has requisite capacity installed to support government on saving the precious foreign exchange and subsidy, he concluded.