No fertiliser crunch, says Union Secretary
New Delhi, November 23
The government has said the fertiliser stock situation in the country is extremely comfortable and there is no shortage at the national level.
Speaking to The Tribune amid reports of fertiliser shortage in Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and recently Haryana, Union Fertiliser Secretary Arun Singhal said there was no crisis of any kind for the rabi season. “The requirement of urea for November was 38 lakh metric tonne (LMT). Nearly 61 LMT is currently stocked and 25 LMT is being produced on a monthly basis,” said Singhal.
He said the entire requirement of urea for the rabi season was 180 LMT and the government’s endeavour going into the season was always to maintain 30 per cent of the requirement. “We had 55 LMT urea at the beginning of the season. With all the consumption, we currently have 61 LMT in stock,” he said.
On diammonium phosphate (DAP), the Union Fertiliser Secretary said half the DAP requirement for the rabi season had already been met and the position was comfortable. Former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda had recently flagged DAP shortage in the state, a concern the Haryana Government had allayed, saying there was no shortage.
