As per schedule provided by the Ameropa, two ships namely "Iron Lady" and "Gravity" carrying cumulatively 100,000 metric tons (some 50,000 metric tons each) have reached Pakistan. The shipments were arrived from Oman and berthed at Karachi Port. An official of the TCP has also confirmed that urea consignments imported for the domestic consumption have arrived and some 50 percent offloading has also been completed. Sources said that the offloading process and transportation is very slow due to monsoon and Eid holidays.
Import of urea is part of efforts of the federal government to avoid any shortage in the domestic market and meet the farmers' requirements during the peak sowing season. For current import, following the directives of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet, on April 17, 2019, the state-run grain trader invited bids for supply of 100,000 (10 percent more or less at seller's option) urea fertilizer Granular or Prilled or both in bulk through import from worldwide sources on Cost and Freight (C&F) basis.
The TCP's international urea import tender was opened on 13th May 2019 and overall some nine international bidders/suppliers participated in the tender and quoted prices ranging from $301.70 per metric ton to $309.91 per metric ton. Out of nine bidders, two participants submitted regret letters. Ameropa's lowest bid was responsive and was meeting the tender's prescribed terms and conditions, therefore the tender was awarded to first lowest bidder.