Adequate availability of fertilisers for upcoming Kharif sowing season: Govt

The Centre on Monday asserted that there is adequate availability of fertilisers in the country to meet the demand of soil nutrients during the upcoming Kharif (summer-sown) season.

At an inter-ministerial briefing on West Asia developments, Aparna S Sharma, Additional Secretary, Department of Fertilizers, said the domestic output post crisis has been good and the country is also importing fertilisers to ensure sufficient supply.

''The overall stock position of fertilizer in the country remains comfortable,'' she said.

As against the assessment of 390.54 lakh tonne for Kharif season this year, the stock as on date is 200.12 lakh tonne, the secretary said.

According to Sharma, the fertilisers stock is more than 50 per cent of projected Kharif demand, significantly higher than the usual 33 per cent.

The Department of Agriculture has assessed the fertiliser requirement for Kharif 2026 at 390.54 lakh tonne. The Kharif sowing operation will begin in June.

Sharma also highlighted that the domestic production and import of fertilizers after the crisis has been substantial.

The total domestic production has been about 95 lakh tonne and about 22.60 lakh tonne of imports have reached Indian shores. So, a total of 117.6 lakh tonne fertilizers have been added to the stock.

The secretary said that the country has already secured 13.5 lakh tonne of DAP and 9 lakh tonne of NPK complexes.

''This will ensure adequate availability during the peak Kharif season,'' Sharma said.

The secretary mentioned that the availability of inputs for the production of fertilizers also remains comfortable.

She informed that the Department of Fertilizer is regularly reviewing the situation.

The Empowered Group of Secretary has held nine meetings so far.

''The adequate availability of finished fertilizers and raw materials is being reviewed. The position is stable and well managed,'' Sharma said.

In 2025, nearly 73 per cent of the country's total fertilizer requirement was met through domestic production.

Total domestic production of fertilizers, including Urea, DAP, NPKs and SSP has increased from 433.29 lakh tonne in 2021 to a record 524.62 lakh tonne in 2025.

India imports a large quantity of urea and di-ammonimum phosphate (DAP) to meet local demand.

The country's urea production has increased from 225 lakh tonne during 2014-15 to 306.67 lakh tonne in 2024-25. The country imported more than 100 lakh tonne of urea last fiscal to meet local demand.

The budgetary allocation for fertiliser subsidies in 2026-27 stands at Rs 1.71 lakh crore and the import bill is likely to rise as rates in global markets have shot up.

At present, the MRP of neem-coated Urea is Rs 242 per bag (45kg), while the DAP is being sold at Rs 1,350 per bag (50kg).

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)