Urea sales in May 2014 are likely to be at 313,000 tons compared to 257,000 tons in April 2014, up 22 percent month-on-month (MoM), analysts said. According to Zeeshan Afzal, an analyst at Topline Securities, year-on-year (YoY) urea sales fell 35 percent as 485,000 tons of the commodity was sold in May 2013. The year-on-year decline could be attributed to low imported urea sales amid expectations that its price might go down, he added.
"Our industry contacts suggest that during 5 months (January-May) of Calendar Year 2014, industry urea sales are estimated at 1.95 million tons which is down 8.8 percent YoY mainly because of 31 percent YoY decline in imported urea sales to 277,000 tons. Local industry urea sales, on the other hand, may also decrease by 4 percent YoY to 1.67 million tons in first five months of CY14. By the end of May 2014, industry urea inventory is estimated at 554,000 tons, of which nearly 62 percent (346,000 tons) rests with the National Fertiliser Marketing Limited.