Fertiliser giants bet big on specialty products

NEW DELHI: India's top fertiliser makers, including Coromandel, Deepak Fertilisers, ICL Group and SML, are expanding capacity to make specialty fertilisers as farmers increasingly warm up to crop-specific, water-soluble and high-efficiency products.

Specialty fertilisers, widely used in horticulture, are gaining popularity as farmers seek better yields and more efficient use of nutrients. These products also command a significant premium over conventional fertilisers, making the segment increasingly attractive for manufacturers.

Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corp is upgrading its manufacturing facilities and focusing on moving from selling individual fertiliser products to offering nutrition solutions tailored to specific crops, while Coromandel International is adding capacity for specialty nutrients, including a new mono ammonium phosphate (MAP) facility at Kakinada.


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Companies are betting that pressure to improve yields, conserve water and manage climate-related crop stress, along with prospects for increasing farmers' income, will accelerate adoption.

"We are in the process of upgrading our NPK plant to completely latest technology," said SC Mehta, chairman and managing director of Deepak Fertilisers. The company, which started making specialty fertilisers five-seven years ago, has seen increased traction and is combining crop nutrition with soil enhancers and growth promoters to improve nutrient uptake, he said.

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For Coromandel, its specialty nutrients and organic business delivered a strong performance in Q1 of the current fiscal year, aided by higher offtake in organics and micronutrient segments.

"The increasing adoption of specialty nutrients reflects a broader shift in the way farmers are approaching crop nutrition. Products such as micronutrients, organics and water-soluble fertilisers are gaining traction as farmers look for solutions that can improve soil health and help crops withstand stress, particularly amid increasing climate variability," said S Sankarasubramanian, MD & CEO, Coromandel International.