Urea

The ECC has allowed the export of 300,000 tonnes of urea to reduce excessive inventory. This move will also fetch the much-needed foreign exchange to the country. Previously, the allowed quantity could not be exported because of stringent timelines added by the State Bank of Pakistan. The SBP expects the companies to export the allotted quota within 45 days, following the guidelines of sugar export policy. This is not possible due to logistic difficulties of a different nature and frequent disruptions caused by the border situation, as bulk is expected to be exported to Afghanistan.

The ECC understands the difficulty faced by manufacturers and has allowed the export until the end of the year. Now, the SBP, being the final authority to monitor the export, needs to realise that the sugar export model can’t be used for the urea export. It is hoped that unnecessary restriction and threats of penalty will be removed for the smooth operation of urea export.

Ammar Muzaffar

Karachi