Fertiliser stocks surge up to 13% on Cabinet move

MUMBAI: Fertiliser stocks surged up to 13 per cent today after the government approved continuation of urea production from three plants that use naphtha as feedstock till availability of gas through pipelines or any other means.

Shares of Southern Petrochemicals soared 13.07 per cent to Rs 18.60, while Madras Fertilisers gained 11.52 per cent to Rs 15 and Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilisers jumped 7.31 per cent to Rs 56.55 on the BSE.

To ensure smooth supply of urea in southern states, the government today approved continuation of its production from three plants that use naphtha as feedstock till availability of gas through pipelines or any other means.

"The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs ( CCEA) today okayed the continuation of production of urea from Madras Fertilisers (MFL), Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilisers ( MCFL) and Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation (SPIC), using naphtha as feedstock," Fertiliser Minister Ananth Kumar said.

Of these three companies, MFL is state-owned while other two -- MCFL and SPIC -- are private players.

In the stock market, the benchmark BSE Sensex ended with a gain of 359.25 points at 26,840.50.