The actual sales of fertilizers in last kharif season was 36.1 mt
| Photo Credit:
ANI
The Indian government on Monday said that the country has over 18 million tonnes (mt) of fertilizers stock as of now against 14.7 mt in the year-ago period. With increasing availability from domestic production and imports, this year’s kharif demand, estimated at 39 mt, will be met. After the government made available more gas to urea plants with 27 currently in operation, the production has improved from the initial decline.
At the inter-ministerial daily media briefing, Aparna S Sharma, Additional Secretary in Department of Fertilizers, said that as of now the country has 6.2 mt of urea, 2.34 mt of DAP, 1.27 mt of MOP, 8.68 mt of complex stock and more will be available in the coming days as the government will use April-May, considered lean period in demand, to beef up reserves.
According to her, the actual sales of fertilizers in last kharif season was 36.1 mt. Officials data show that it included 19.32 mt of Urea, 4.63 mt of DAP, 1.1 mt of MOP and 8.15 mt of complex.
Daily output up
She said that 27 plants (out of 30) are currently getting gas and the gas supplies have improved significantly — from 60 per cent of average demand after supply disruption to 80 per cent now. She pointed out that the Gulf region accounts for about 30 per cent of India’s import of DAP and urea, each and 50 per cent of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which is the key feedstock to produce the nitrogen fertilizer.
Further, the government said that after the disruption, the per day urea production had dropped by 30,000-35,000 tonne from normal about 80,000 tonner per day in the pre-war period. But, with the increased supply of gas from spot buying, the daily production has reached 67,000 tonne.
Sharma said the government has already sent advisories to States to use alternatives like SSP and TSP for DAP and also has increased sourcing of raw materials from destinations other than Gulf region, including Morocco and Russia. India is negotiating with many countries like Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Jordan, Canada, Algeria, Egypt and Togo for sourcing raw materials as well as finished fertilisers, she said.
Supply at 62% of demand
Official sources said that total demand for LNG by India’s urea plants is around 52 MMSCMD, based on their average consumption between September 2025 and February 2026. However, after the government listed fertilizer sector under second priority list in gas allocation, supplies to the urea units were maintained at around 32 MMSCMD, or 62 per cent of their average requirement.
After the government made a demand assessment of 8.56 MMSCMD of LNG during Mar 18-31 for spot buying, 7.31 MMSCMD was purchased, which resulted in gas supply increasing to 39.31 MMSCMD.
Published on March 30, 2026
