KARACHI: Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) has issued four urea import tenders totaling 415,000 tonnes to overcome the shortage during the current Rabi season.
TCP has issued three tenders for 105,000 tonnes of prilled or granular urea each, with the first to close on November 10, the second on November 11 and the third on November 12, they added. A fourth tender for 100,000 tones will close on November 13.
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TCP has asked the minimum quantity offered is 105,000 tonnes and that offer validity under each tender lasts 24 hours. Shipment of the tones is expected to be made by December 7 for the first tender, and then by December 8 and 9 for the second two.
The imported urea is expected to land at ports of Pakistan within one-month from the date of opening of letter of credit (L/C).
The government has already approved the import of 185,000 tonnes of urea from Saudi Arabia under a $100 million credit facility from the Saudi Fund for Development.
Urea import tenders from Pakistan had been widely expected in the market as the country was expecting to see a 600,000-tonne shortfall in supply for the September 2014-April 2015 Rabi season as Pakistan urea production has been hit due to gas shortages. Pakistan’s main Rabi crop is wheat.
An official of TCP said Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet has approved the imports after National Fertilizer Marketing Limited (NFML) submitted a detailed report on shortage of urea during Rabi.
Traders expect said the import would cost Pakistan $373 per ton. This cost would go up with the addition of five percent freight, port and other charges, and 17 percent General Sales Tax (GST).
The farmers would be needed a total of 3.10 million tonnes urea during the current Rabi crops while only 2.50 million tonnes of urea will be available at the beginning of the season.
The available 2.50 million tonnes urea included domestic production of 2.380 million tonnes and carryover of 120,000 tonnes from the outgoing Kharif season (April-2014 to September-2014).
