KARACHI, Sept 26: Fertiliser sales declined by 15 per cent during August 2006 according to the figures released by the National Fertiliser Development Centre (NFDC).

Urea and DAP demand during Aug dropped by 15 per cent and 69 per cent, respectively, as compared to the same month last year. Aggregate sales during the first eight months of the year (Jan–August 2006) stood at 3.4m tons, 2.6pc higher compared to 3.3m tons during the corresponding period of the preceding year.

The NFDC has attributed the slowdown in off-take to low commodity prices against input costs together with the erratic spread of monsoon and floods in many parts of the country.

Analyst said that in Aug, which is peak month of the Kharif season, urea sales drop could be attributed primarily to the speculative buying that had taken place in the preceding month in anticipation of a probable price rise.

Domestic fertiliser prices, however, remained flat. The NFDC stated that the price of Urea Sona at approximately Rs529/bag portrayed a marginal 0.2 per cent decline. DAP price at around Rs1,077 per bag level also showed a negligible increase of 0.2 per cent.

On the international front, Prilled Bulk Yuzhny urea and Middle East bagged urea was respectively quoted in the range of US$205-218 per ton and US$235-240 per ton. On the other hand, DAP prices were quoted respectively at US$259-264 per ton and US$285-290 per ton in the US Gulf and Jordan market.

Urea production during the month of August decreased to 387,000 tons compared to 401,000 tons produced in July 2006 (reflecting a decline of 3 per cent).

During the month under review, 58,000 tons of imported urea was also brought into the industry to cover up the demand supply gap. For all of the eight months of 2006, imported urea stood at 648,000 tons.