KARACHI:
Fertiliser sales were under pressure in October due to prolonged shut down of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited-based plants and persistently low gas supply to urea manufacturers, according to Summit Capital.
Sales improved by meagre 3% to 803,000 in October on a monthly basis against 776,000 tons sold in the previous month.
Top two fertiliser products showed mixed numbers as urea sales declined by 1% to 518,000 while di-ammonia phosphate surged 65% to 204,000 in the period under review, said Summit Capital analyst Sarfraz Abbasi.
Among listed players, Engro posted a substantial decline of 46% to 65,000 tons in urea sales. Fauji Fertilizer Company jumped 8% to 218,000 tons while Dawood Hercules posted highest decline of 40% to 190,000 due to persistent shut down owing to gas cuts.
Fauji Fertiliser Bin Qasim, sole manufacturer of DAP, posted a substantial growth of 52% as the firm managed to capture sales lost from its Sui-based counterparts.
The country’s gas distribution network is segmented into three companies namely Sui Northern Gas Company (SNGPL), Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) and Mari Gas with market share of 46 per cent, 29 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively.
Some of the companies are on the SNGPL network while others are on the Mari Gas network.
Meanwhile, Engro’s DAP sales fell 14% to 33,000 tons compared with 39,000 tons in the preceding month.
Average urea prices surged by 65% to Rs1,393 per bag in the first ten months of 2011. Similarly, ten months average DAP prices stood at Rs3,835 per bag, showing 48% growth over last year.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 26th, 2011.
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