The Fertilizer production reached to 7,171 thousand tones with an increase of 16.6 percent during the first nine months of the fiscal year 2024 as compared to the production of last year. According to the Economic Survey 2023-24, there are 10 urea manufacturing plants, one DAP, two Nitro Phos, four SSP (out of which one plant is idle), two CAN, two plants of blended NPKs, and one plant of SOP, having a total production capacity of 9,417 thousand product tones per annum. Similarly, fertilizer production in nutrient terms was 3,253 thousand tones, 17.3 percent higher than last year. Urea, the main fertilizer, has a 71.7 percent share in total production capacity. Domestic demand for urea can be met through local production. However, two SNGPL-based plants remained shut down for three months (January to March 2023), resulting in a production loss of 210 thousand tones. Similarly, FFBL received low gas supplies, which caused a production loss of around 220 thousand tones. Resultantly, the supply and demand gap had to be filled through imports (220 thousand tones).

Urea’s offtake during the first nine months of the current fiscal year was 5,368 thousand tones, showing an increase of 7.5 percent compared to last year. DAP is the second most widely used fertilizer, having a share of 16 percent in total fertilizer intake. Its production was 601 thousand tones, 33 percent more than the previous year. DAP imports were 597 thousand tones compared to 360 thousand tones the prior year, which increased by 65.8 percent. DAP offtake was 1,365 thousand tones, which increased by 56 percent compared to last year. DAP offtake seems high due to extraordinarily low offtake during the previous year due to the flood’s occurrence. Nutrient offtake during July-March FY 2024 was 3,957 thousand tones, 18.7 percent more than the corresponding period of the last year. Nitrogen and Phosphate offtake was 3,086 and 834 thousand tones, respectively, whereas Potash offtake was 38 thousand tones. During July-March FY2024, nitrogen, phosphate, and potash offtake increased by 11.8 percent, 51.5 percent, and 54.9 percent, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan