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Pakissan.com;
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Urea imports from Saudi Arabia halted
By Aftab Maken
ISLAMABAD (June 21 2007): The government has temporarily put off the import of urea from Saudi Arabia under the facility offered by the Kingdom, as abundant inventory is available both in the market and with manufacturers, a senior government official told The News on Wednesday.
“The government will not allow Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) for importing urea fertiliser from Saudi Arabia, as stocks of the commodity are comfortable to meet the Kharif and coming Rabi seasons,” said additional secretary MINFAL, Shahid Hussain Raja.
Saudi Arabia had pledged millions of dollars to absorb the shocks of 2005 devastating quake. Of the facility, Pakistan is using $133 million for importing Saudi fertiliser.
The officials from MINFLA, EAD and TCP finalised with their Saudi counterparts, devising a mechanism for the import of urea from Saudi Arabia, Raja said.
Saudi Arabia has offered Pakistan to avail the facility by importing Saudi fertiliser either through one or more than one shipment according to requirements”, he said. Pakistan is importing about 500,000 tons of urea annually through the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) to bridge the demand-supply gap, as local production of the commodity varies from 4.4 to 4.6 million tonnes against the consumption of 5.4 million tonnes.
Currently, Pakistan’s total inventories of urea with manufacturers is reported to be around three million tons against the local consumption of 2.2 million tonnes leaving nearly 0.8 million tonnes in surplus with manufacturers.
“It is not wise to import the commodity when the domestic market is already saturated with nearly 800,000 tons of urea in surplus”, Shahid Hussain said.
When asked about the export of urea as demanded by the manufacturers, Shahid Hussain said, “allowing wheat export, which pushed commodity prices upwardly, has frightened the policy makers and that is the main reason that the government is reluctant to allow urea export, another commodity, fearing increase in its prices if allowed.”
However, he said that the government had to decide its future export strategy as production of urea will increase, with commissioning of two new fertiliser plants, one by Fatima Fertiliser Company Limited (FFCL) and Engro Chemical Limited.
Courtesy The News |
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