Fertiliser imports rose 3.9% to 1.9 mn metric tonnes in January: Govt data

The country's fertiliser imports rose by 3.9 per cent to 19.04 lakh tonnes in January this year compared to the year-ago period, according to the Fertiliser Ministry data.

The country imported 18.33 lakh tonnes of fertilisers during January 2022.

According to the latest data, of the total imports of 19.04 lakh tonne, 10.65 lakh tonnes of urea, 5.62 lakh tonnes of Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP), 1.14 lakh tonnes of Muriate of Potash (MoP) and 1.63 lakh tonnes of complexes were imported.

In the same month of the previous year, the country imported 12.48 lakh tonnes of urea, 2.45 lakh tonnes of DAP and 3.40 lakh tonnes of MoP.

The quantity of MoP was for both agriculture and industrial use.

The domestic fertiliser production during January this year also rose to 39.14 lakh tonnes when compared with 32.16 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period, the data showed.

In the international market, there has been a falling trend in fertiliser prices. Urea prices (freight on board) showed a decline of 44.26 per cent to USD 500 per tonne in January this year from USD 897 per tonne in the year-ago period.

Similarly, global prices of DAP fell by 26.28 per cent to USD 679 per tonne, phosphoric acid by 11.65 per cent to USD 1175 per tonne, and Ammonia rates by about 17.42 per cent to 929 per tonne in January this year.

Global Sulphur price also showed a decline of 52.51 per cent to USD 161 per tonne in January this year, from the year-ago period.

However, the global price of MoP increased by about 32.58 per cent to USD 590 per tonne in January this year from USD 445 per tonne in the year-ago period. Even prices of Rock Phosphate increased by about 68.06 per cent to USD 242 per tonne in January from USD 144 per tonne in the year-ago period, the data showed.