According to a bidder who participated in the Trading Corporation of Pakistan’s 150,000 metric tonnes of urea tender, Islamabad declined to approve the import of urea, instead preferring to supply gas to local plants to maintain urea production to meet next season’s demands.

The tender participant said that in the meeting of the federal cabinet presided over by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday, the federal cabinet directed on the decision made in the meeting of the ECC held on August 2, 2024, that instead of importing urea to ensure uninterrupted supply of gas to the urea fertiliser plants in Pakistan even after September 2024.

Therefore, it is certain that urea will not be imported, either through tender or on a G2G basis, in the foreseeable future.

It is recalled here that the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd. (TCP) opened a urea import tender on 29 July. The bidding was for the supply of 150,000 metric tons of urea, with the capacity to supply ‘Urea’ (in bulk) through worldwide sources on a CFR Karachi / Gwadar basis (in bulk shipment).

The bidding process was competitive, with six companies participating in the tender. These companies, including West Trade, Mercury DMC, ABG Trading, SINEPO, Singapore, Torbert DMC, and Trammo GmbH, brought a variety of offers to the table. The price per ton of urea varied among bidders, with West Trade offering the lowest price at $358.99 per ton.