Fertiliser sales likely to record decline

Fall mainly due to low urea sales in November.

KARACHI: Total fertiliser sales including urea, di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP), calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) and Nitrophos (NP) during November 2014 is likely to drop 20% compared to the same month of the previous year, Sherman Securities said on Wednesday citing industry sources.

The major reason behind the decline in sale is due to the lower urea sales in November 2014, which are tipped to remain low at 460,000 tons compared to 551,000 tons in November 2013.

“We believe that product availability remained the major issue during November 2014 though demand remained robust. Thus, cumulative urea sales during the first 11 month of calendar year 2014 are likely to remain lower by 5% to 4.9 million tons,” the report added.



Company-wise urea sales data during November 2014 shows that sales of Fauji Fertilizer Company (FFC) and Engro are likely to clock in at 180,000 tons (down 14% year-on- year(YoY)  and 145,000 tons (down 7% YoY) respectively.

On the other hand, sales of Fatima Fertilizer are to remain robust at 70,000 tons (up 100% year on year YoY).

Additionally, sales of DAP are also expected to remain lower by 24% YoY to approximately 310,000 tons in November 2014. Once again, product availability remained the major issue behind lower DAP sales due to delay in imports. Overall, DAP sales during the first 11 months of 2014 are likely to remain lower by 6%.

Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim (FFBL) – the sole manufacturer of DAP in Pakistan – may witness higher sales at 155,000 tons, up 6% YoY during November 2014.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th, 2014.

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