Urea imports surge 40% despite push to cut chemical fertilisers

New Delhi: India's urea imports increased 40.5% in the first half of this fiscal year from a year earlier, despite the government's push to reduce dependence on chemical fertilisers.

Meanwhile, sales of all major fertiliser varieties, including urea, fell amid deficient rainfall and subdued demand, industry data showed. Imports of urea, the most used fertiliser in India, started on a subdued note in April at 583,000 tonnes due to the West Asia crisis disrupting supply chains, and peaked at 1.534 million tonnes in July, the data showed.

Total urea imports in the April-September period rose to 5.589 million tonnes from 3.979 million tonnes in the first half of last fiscal year. Local sales fell 4.1% to 18.52 million tonnes. "The sales were down primarily due to poor rainfall in large parts of the country deterring farmers from spending on soil nutrients," said a senior executive at a large urea firm.


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Domestic urea production rose 4% during the period, according to latest data from the Fertiliser Association of India, sourced from industry executives.

Production and imports of NP/NPK fertilisers fell 35.5% and 31.4%, respectively, as high sulphur prices linked to geopolitical tensions weighed on supplies. Their sales were down 22.2% to just over 6 million tonnes.

Imports of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), used mainly to provide phosphorus to crops, declined 11.2%, while its domestic production fell 0.3%. Sales of DAP, the second most used soil nutrient in India, fell marginally by 0.6% year-over-year, according to the data.

Sales of muriate of phosphate (MOP) and single super phosphate dropped 11.7% and 1.4%, respectively. The four-month-long monsoon season, which influences the cultivation of key crops such as rice, pulses, sugarcane and oilseeds, ended with a 13% deficiency in rainfall, missing also the India Meteorological Department's forecast for a 10% shortfall. This was the weakest monsoon in more than a decade and triggered drought in several states that are important contributors to agricultural production.

While kharif sowing (June-September) was only 1% lower from a year earlier, erratic rainfall prevented farmers from investing in soil nutrients.