Kamal Ghorui
India is stepping up efforts to secure fertiliser supplies, with plans to import 2.5 million metric tonnes of urea as it works to stabilise availability in the domestic market amid tightening conditions linked to the US-Israeli war with Iran.This comes as ongoing tensions in the Middle East have been disrupting global energy flows and shipping routes, creating ripple effects across supply chains. As global markets remain unsettled, the pressure on fertiliser supply chains has increased, prompting India, world’s largest urea importer, to safeguard availability and prevent any shortfall at a critical time.State-owned Indian Potash Ltd (IPL) has floated a tender for the procurement, with 1.5 million tonnes scheduled to be brought in through the west coast and 1 million tonnes through the east coast, according to details published on the company’s website. The shipments are expected to be loaded by June 14, while bids for the tender are due by April 15, Reuters reported.The imports are critical as the country continues to rely on global tenders to meet its urea demand, particularly ahead of the key sowing period that begins in June with the onset of the monsoon. The fertiliser is essential for crops such as rice, maize and soybeans.Agriculture remains a major part of the Indian economy, with the country also importing other key fertilisers including diammonium phosphate (DAP) and muriate of potash, along with liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is used in domestic urea production. The Middle East supplies about half of India’s DAP and urea imports, with Saudi Arabia being the largest supplier of DAP and Oman the leading supplier of urea.Separately, the government has moved to raise gas supply to urea manufacturing plants to around 90% of their average consumption starting Monday, compared with the current level of 70–75 per cent.The increase has been justified on the basis of available inventories and scheduled LNG cargo arrivals. Authorities have also decided to enhance gas allocation to industrial and commercial users, including city gas distribution networks, by an additional 10% from Monday.“All industrial consumers, including fertiliser plants, have been advised to provide their additional requirement on spot basis so that the same may be arranged by the gas marketing companies,” an official statement said.According to the fertiliser ministry, domestic urea production fell to 18 lakh tonnes in March from an earlier average of 24 lakh tonnes, though output is expected to improve with higher LNG availability and more frequent spot purchases.
