Kamal Ghorui
India is lining up major fertiliser imports ahead of the upcoming kharif season as global prices have almost doubled due the ongoing Middle East crisis, pushing import bill higher. The government on Monday said that it plans to import 64 lakh tonnes of urea and 19 lakh tonnes of other fertilisers, even as domestic availability remains comfortable.Speaking at an inter ministerial briefing, Aparna S Sharma, additional secretary in the department of fertilisers, assured that despite the spike in global costs, farmers will not see any change in retail prices of key nutrients and that there is sufficient supply across the country for the season. “MRP of fertilisers like urea and Di Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) remain the same. There has been no change,” she said.Urea will continue to be sold at Rs 266.50 per 45 kg bag, while DAP is priced at Rs 1,350 per 50 kg bag.Since the crisis began, 9.4 lakh tonnes of urea have reached Indian shores. Another 13.07 lakh tonnes were received through a global tender issued in February, while 25 lakh tonnes more have been tendered and are expected to arrive in May.“Most of the imports are out of the Strait of Hormuz. We are very much sure that we will be getting the supplies on time,” Sharma said.Meanwhile on the production side, domestic urea output had dipped in March due to force majeure on gas supplies, which brought plant utilisation down to 60–65%. The government has since stepped in to secure gas at higher prices to stabilise operations.“Now we have taken measures to import gas even at a higher cost. Availability of gas for urea units, which earlier was 60-65%, is now 97%. So our urea production has been very good after that,” she said.Following these measures, domestic production has improved, with post-crisis urea output reaching 35.4 lakh tonnes.To ensure adequate supplies during peak demand, the government has also floated a global tender to import 19 lakh tonnes of non-urea fertilisers. This includes 12 lakh tonnes of DAP, 4 lakh tonnes of Triple Superphosphate (TSP), and 3 lakh tonnes of Ammonium Sulphate.A decision on further imports will be taken after assessing how domestic production and demand evolve.Supply data presented at the briefing indicated a strong position. Between April 1 and April 26, urea availability stood at 71.58 lakh tonnes against a requirement of 18.17 lakh tonnes. DAP availability was 22.35 lakh tonnes compared with a requirement of 5.90 lakh tonnes. Stocks of Muriate of Potash (MoP) were at 12.46 lakh tonnes, while Single Super Phosphate (SSP) stood at 26.26 lakh tonnes.For the 2026 kharif season, total fertiliser demand has been estimated at 390.54 lakh tonnes. Against this, the country already holds an opening stock of 190.21 lakh tonnes, nearly 49 per cent of the requirement.“There is a strong supply situation for the kharif season. No shortages have been reported so far,” Sharma said.The department of fertilisers said the overall supply position remains “strong, stable and well managed”, with availability across all major fertilisers exceeding demand.
