India to import 64 lakh tonnes of urea this kharif season; no price hike of fertilisers
Urea continues to be sold at Rs 266.50 per 45 kg bag and DAP at Rs 1,350 per 50 kg bag
The Centre, on Monday, said 64 lakh tonnes of urea and 19 lakh tonnes of other fertilisers will be imported this kharif season as the US-Iran war has led to skyrocketing prices.
It also said the availability of fertilisers remains substantially higher than requirement and that there is no change in the price of major fertilisers despite the sharp rise in global costs.
"For the period from April 1 to April 26, availability of fertilisers remained substantially higher than requirement. Urea availability is 71.58 LMT against a requirement of 18.17 LMT and DAP availability is 22.35 LMT against 5.90 LMT across the country," Aparna Sharma, additional secretary, Department of Fertilisers, said here at an inter-ministerial meeting.
She said the post-crisis domestic urea production has reached 35.4 lakh tonne, adding that the government has also floated a global tender for the import of 19 lakh tonnes of non-urea fertilisers, comprising 12 lakh tonnes of DAP, 4 lakh tonnes of triple superphosphate (TSP), and 3 lakh tonnes of ammonium sulphate, to ensure adequate supplies during the peak kharif season.
A call for further import of urea and non-urea fertilisers will be made after assessing domestic production and demand, she added.
Urea continues to be sold at Rs 266.50 per 45 kg bag and DAP at Rs 1,350 per 50 kg bag.
Of the planned imports, 9.4 lakh tonne of urea has already been received since the crisis began. Another 13.07 lakh tonnes were secured through a global tender in February, while 25 lakh tonnes more have been tendered and are expected to arrive in May.
The official said the Centre is committed in shielding farmers from global price volatility while ensuring affordability and accessibility.
"For Kharif season, the fertiliser requirement has been assessed by DA&FW at 390.54 LMT, against this stock as on today is around 190 LMT (49 per cent), significantly higher than the usual level of about 33 per cent. This reflects improved planning, advance stocking and efficient logistics management by the government," the official added.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, the supply position of urea continues to be strong in states, particularly from April 1 to 26 April.
"The current DAP availability is 23.09 LMT against 6.67 LMT requirement, MOP availability is 8.38 LMT against 1.96 LMT requirement, NPK availability is 53.40 LMT against 8.43 LMT requirement, and SSP availability is 25.78 LMT against 3.73 LMT requirement. This clearly indicates a strong opening position for the ongoing kharif season," it said.
Sharma noted that despite a sharp rise in global fertiliser prices where international cost of urea has exceeded Rs 4,000 per bag, the government continues to supply the same to farmers at a highly subsidised rate of Rs 266.5 per 45kg bag.
"This underscores the government’s commitment to shielding farmers from global price volatility while ensuring affordability and accessibility," she added.
