KARACHI, Nov 6: The Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) has handed over 15,000 tons of imported urea to four fertilizer companies for onward sale to growers at Rs450 per 50 kg bag.

TCP Chairman Syed Masood Alam Rizvi said here on Saturday that the landing cost of the imported urea was Rs1,200 per 50 kg bag, but the government would bear the loss just to ensure that growers should not face its shortage in Rabi season.

He said the distribution of imported urea had been done on the market share basis of each company. Fauji Fertilizer gets 59.1 per cent of the total imported quantity while Engro Chemical receives 21.9 per cent. National Fertilizer Company and Dawood Chemical get 9.5 per cent each.

Rizvi said that second vessel with 30,000 tons of urea would arrive at Port Qasim on November 8, while remaining quantity of urea would reach Pakistan through four ships before November 25.

TCP had awarded a contract to four companies, including a Chinese firm while the other three firms belonged to Ukraine and Russia, to supply 170,000 tons of urea.

Chinese urea was being imported at $287 per ton while the rest at $297 per ton.

The government has asked TCP to import 250,000 tons of urea to avoid any shortage during forthcoming Rabi season.-APP