India's domestic urea sales are on track to hit around 3.4mn t this month, rising from 3.2mn t a year earlier, with offtake set to be a key determinant of the timing of the country's next import tender.
Urea offtake has been running at the equivalent of 3.4mn t in November, up by 200,000t on the year, provisional data show. Production is set to be around 2.6mn t, down from 2.76mn t a year ago.
The trend of increasing urea sales so far this month marks a reversal from October, when sales are likely to have totalled 2.32mn t, down from 2.37mn t a year earlier, provisional data show.
Output had been similarly down in October on the year, with urea production at 2.58mn t, dipping from 2.85mn t a year earlier.
Urea sales typically peak in November-January in the winter Rabi season and Indian authorities will be closely following domestic consumption for the timing of the next urea import tender. Importer IPL last week secured 1.03mn t of urea in its 11 November purchase tender, the sixth this year.
