India seeks 2.5 mt urea imports ahead of sowing season

New Delhi: India has issued a global tender for the import of 2.5 million tonnes of urea to bolster the reserves of the most-used soil nutrient ahead of the main planting season that begins in June.

Indian Potash Ltd (IPL) issued the tender for bulk import of granular and prilled urea. It must be loaded onto a ship that must depart the export location before June 14, according to the tender issued on April 4.

Urea imports in India are handled through a structured electronic bidding process run by Government-backed trading firms IPL, Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd and National Fertilizers Ltd.


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They act as the main purchasing entities on behalf of the government. Global bids are submitted on a government portal. After evaluation, purchase takes place based on several metrics such as prices and date of arrival.

Urea is the most-used soil nutrient, accounting for 45% of fertiliser consumption and applied right after planting, around the end of June. The key raw material for urea is natural gas, around 80% of which is largely imported from the Middle East. Disruptions in supplies of liquefied natural gas have forced several factories to either shut down and advance their annual maintenance or run below capacity, reducing monthly production to 1.8 mt in March from a monthly average of 2.4 mt.