Fertiliser demand for states being met through local production and imports: Govt

NEW DELHI: The government on Friday said the fertiliser demand from all states is being fully met through indigenous production as well as imports.

"The month-wise demand for each state is assessed and projected by the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (DAC) in consultation with the state governments before commencement of each cropping season," Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertiliser Srikant Kumar Jena said in the Rajya Sabha.

On the basis of the assessment, the Department of Fertiliser (DoF) allocates the required quantities of fertilisers to the states, Jena said in reply to a question on demand and supply of urea and fertilisers in Madhya Pradesh.

The supply is made both through indigenous production as well as imports to ensure that there is no shortfall, which is continuously checked through a web-based monitoring system, he said.

"The state governments regularly coordinate with manufacturers and importers of fertilisers for streamlining the supplies through timely placement of indents for railway rakes through their institutional agencies like MARKFED, etc," Jena said.

The Minister said video conference is also conducted on a weekly basis by DAC and Dof and Ministry of Railways with state agriculture officials and corrective actions are taken to dispatch fertilisers as indicated by the state governments.