KARACHI: Country’s urea and DAP offtake registered a 16 per cent and 82pc fall in October to 429,000 tonnes and 63,000 tonnes compared to 514,000 tonnes and 342,000 tonnes in the same month last year.

However, urea sales recorded a 15pc drop in October when compared with 508,000 tonnes in September, data released by Arif Habib Ltd (AHL) said.

During 10MCY22, urea sales slightly went up by 2pc to 5.199m tonnes from 5.089m tonnes in the same period last year. DAP sales plunged by 48pc to 803,000 tonnes from 1.544m tonnes.

As per weekly data of the Sensitive Price Index (SPI) ending Oct 27, Sona Urea 50kg bag price swelled to Rs2,448 compared to Rs1,898 in the week ending Oct 28, 2021.

Other urea bag rates like (Tara, Sarsabs, Shandar, etc) soared to Rs2,404 per 50 kg bag from Rs1,836 in the last year. DAP bag rate soared to Rs12,423 per 50 kg bag from Rs7,318, up by 70pc in the last year.

Fertiliser Manufacturers of Pakistan Advisory Council (FMPAC) Executive Director Sher Shah Malik attributed DAP sales drop to a massive increase in its price followed by the suspension of purchasing of DAP by the growers a month back due to an impression created in a kissan rally regarding its price fall. DAP was required for new wheat crop sowing from the end of September to October.

Published in Dawn, November 3rd, 2022