September 13, 2012
Indian fertiliser firm IFFCO may sell fertilisers to neighbouring countries
Iffco, India''s largest fertiliser company, is exploring options to sell fertilisers in neighbouring countries as it was hit by a demand slump due to the erratic monsoon.
While it has already shipped over 15,000 tonnes of diammonium phosphate (DAP) to Nepal, Iffco has sought permission to export crop nutrients to Oman.
"The government doesn''t allow export of fertiliser as it comes under the negative list of export. We have sought permission from the fertiliser ministry for exporting 5,000 tonnes of DAP and 2,500 tonnes of MoP," said US Awasthi, MD of Iffco. Oman was India''s biggest supplier of urea in 2011-12, contributing to one third of total import of 78.34 lakh tonnes.
Most of the imports came through OMIFCO, which is a joint venture between Oman oil company SAOC, Iffco and Kribhco. "Oman supplies us urea, we should also reciprocate the gesture by supplying crop nutrients it has asked for. The quantity too is very small. We expect to get the permission," he said.
The company had plans to export these crop nutrients to other countries as well but the late revival of monsoon has kindled hopes of a better off take in the upcoming rabi season. "We have a huge stock of DAP and NPK as demand went down by over 30% due to erratic monsoon."
"We were looking to seek permission to export fertiliser to countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Burma. But now that the monsoon has revved, we expect demand to pick up for winter crops," he said. Rising fertiliser prices coupled with erratic monsoon has led to a drop in demand this kharif season. The DAP prices have gone up from INR12,000 (US$217.5) a tonne last kharif season to over INR24,000 (US$435) this season. According to an estimate, the industry has 8.35 lakh tonnes unsold DAP as against 73,000 tonnes in the same time last year.
"The industry has witnessed a demand crash for DAP by 29%. For NPK, it has dipped by 27%. Iffco alone has suffered 32% drop in DAP sales and 44% dip in NPK sales," Awasthi said.
The unsold stock of DAP with Iffco is 1.24 lakh tonnes as against 18,000 tonnes last year. The company has 2.63 lakh tonnes NPK.