Urea Sales Down 3% in January 2024

The urea offtake in the country declined by 3 percent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis to 613k tons in January 2024 compared to 631k tons in the same period of the last year. According to provisional data shared by Arif Habib Limited (AHL) in a report, on a company-wise basis, urea dispatches of Engro Fertilizers Limited (EFERT) decreased by 2 percent YoY, settling at 210k tons in January 2024. The urea offtake of Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited (FFC) and Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim Limited (FFBL) combined and Fatima Fertilizer Company Limited (FATIMA) swelled up by 20 percent and 96 percent, YoY respectively, arriving at 266k tons and 98k tons, respectively in January 2024. Moreover, National Fertilizer Marketing Limited’s (NFML) urea sales were reported to be zero in January 2024 compared to 142k tons in January 2023. On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, urea sales declined by 2 percent owing to the seasonality factor. The urea offtake of FATIMA plummeted by 10 percent MoM. Meanwhile, FFC and FFBL combined posted a growth of 5 percent MoM in sales. Whereas, urea dispatches of EFERT remained stable on MoM basis. During January 2024 DAP sales reported a decline of 27 percent YoY to 70k tons. Similarly, DAP sales plunged by 49 percent MoM since sowing for the Rabi season concluded in December 2023. On a company-specific basis, DAP sales of FFC and FFBL combined contracted by 56 percent YoY, the sales also declined by 62 percent on a MoM basis to 28k tons in January 2024. EFERT’s DAP dispatches in January 2024 witnessed a massive growth of 70 percent YoY, while sales increased by 20 percent on a MoM basis to arrive at 37k tons. The DAP sales by private importers clocked in at 5k tons, down by 25 percent on a YoY basis and 83 percent on a MoM basis.