India to import 64 LT urea, 19 LT of other fertilisers in kharif season despite high global prices

India plans to import 64 lakh tonnes of urea and 19 lakh tonnes of other fertilisers this kharif season as the West Asia crisis has driven up global prices by nearly double, raising import bill, the government said on Monday. Addressing an inter-ministerial briefing on the impact of recent developments in West Asia, Aparna S Sharma, Additional Secretary in the Department of Fertilisers, said retail prices of urea and Di Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) would remain unchanged, and there is adequate supply for the kharif season. ''MRP of fertilisers like urea and DAP remain the same. There has been no change,'' she said. Urea continues to be sold at Rs 266.50 per 45 kg bag and DAP at Rs 1,350 per 50 kg bag. Of the planned imports, 9.4 lakh tonne of urea has already been received since the crisis began. Another 13.07 lakh tonnes were secured through a global tender in February, while 25 lakh tonnes more have been tendered and are expected to arrive in May. ''Most of the imports are out of the Strait of Hormuz. We are very much sure that we will be getting the supplies on time,'' the official said. On domestic production, Sharma said output had taken a hit in March due to force majeure on gas deliveries, bringing plant utilisation down to 60-65 per cent. ''Now we have taken measures to import gas even at a higher cost. Availability of gas for urea units, which earlier was 60-65 per cent, is now 97 per cent. So our urea production has been very good after that,'' she said. Post-crisis domestic urea production has reached 35.4 lakh tonne. The government has also floated a global tender for the import of 19 lakh tonnes of non-urea fertilisers, comprising 12 lakh tonnes of DAP, 4 lakh tonnes of Triple Superphosphate (TSP), and 3 lakh tonnes of Ammonium Sulphate, to ensure adequate supplies during the peak kharif season. A call for further import of urea and non-urea fertilisers will be made after assessing domestic production and demand. For the period April 1 to April 26, urea availability stood at 71.58 lakh tonne against a requirement of 18.17 lakh tonne. DAP availability was 22.35 lakh tonne as against a requirement of 5.90 lakh tonne. MoP availability stood at 12.46 lakh tonne and SSP at 26.26 lakh tonne. For the 2026 kharif season, the total fertiliser requirement has been assessed at 390.54 lakh tonnes, against which an opening stock of 190.21 lakh tonnes - nearly 49 per cent of the seasonal requirement - is already in place. ''There is a strong supply situation for the kharif season. No shortages have been reported so far,'' Sharma said. The Department of Fertilisers reaffirmed that fertiliser security remains ''strong, stable and well managed'' with availability consistently exceeding requirements across all major fertilisers.

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