China's crackdown barely dents India's speciality fertiliser imports

Between January and October 2024 and 2025, data show that speciality water soluble fertiliser imports from China dropped by just 5.2 per cent

China’s crackdown on exports of water soluble fertilisers (WSFs), also called speciality fertilisers, was expected to lead to a massive drop in imports as the country accounted for more than half of the supplies, but recent data show that the so far the impact of any restriction has been rather subdued.

 

China has been intermittently imposing special checks and curbs on speciality fertiliser exports to India over the past few years, which became somewhat acute from around April-May 2025. Fresh curbs have come into force from October 2025

 

Data show that between January and October in 2025, India imported close to 180,264 tonnes of WSFs from China, which during the corresponding period of 2024 was 190,082 tonnes, a mere 5.2 per cent drop.

 

This, as per industry sources, could also be due to re-routing of water soluble fertilisers from China to countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia and even the Middle East, from where they are being redirected to India.

 

WSFs here include CN (calcium nitrate), MAP (mono-ammonium phosphate), MKP (mono-potassium phosphate), NOP (potassium nitrate), NPK (00-60-20 grade), NPK (12-11-18 grade), NPK (13-40-13 grade), NPK (18-18-18 grade) and SOP (sulphate of potash).

 

Not only that, to keep up supplies, Indian companies have diversified their imports away from China to countries such as Belgium, Egypt, Germany, Morocco and the United States to bridge the supply gap, Minister of State for Fertilisers Anupriya Patel informed Parliament last week.

 

Speciality fertilisers fall outside the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) scheme overseen by the Department of Fertilisers, and are thus unsubsidised, and companies are free to import them as per their requirement.

 

“We don’t face any challenge from China’s curbs on water soluble fertilisers as domestic players have also stepped up production,” a senior official from the Fertiliser Association of India or FAI said.

 

Meanwhile, the data also show that in 2025 from January to October, India imported around 388,412 tonnes of water soluble fertilisers, of which China accounted for around 180,264 tonnes, roughly a 46.4 per cent share.

 

During the same period last year, India had imported around 356,923 tonnes of WSFs, of which China accounted for 190,082 tonnes, around 53.3 per cent.

 

Clearly, when it comes to imports of WSFs from China, the crackdown on exports has not materialised in a big drop in shipments to India till now.

 

On a monthly basis, data showed that barring in December 2024, January 2025 and February 2025, WSF imports from China were more than the corresponding period of the previous year in October 2024 to October 2025 period.

 

Overall, in the whole of 2024 (January to December), India imported close to 436,685 tonnes of WSFs, of which China accounted for 226,600 tonnes, around 52 per cent.

 

“This calendar year till October, India has imported around 388,412 tonnes of WSFs. Assuming the same pace of imports is maintained in November and December, it would mean that we might end 2025 with total imports which is not much different from last year’s 436,685 tonnes,” a senior industry official explained.

 

"China’s reduction in speciality fertiliser supplies has not caused significant availability challenges at the farmer level. The Indian fertiliser industry responded with agility to the disruption, successfully increasing imports from alternative sources—particularly the Middle East, Europe, and Southeast Asia, depending on the product. As a result, Indian farmers have had adequate access to speciality fertilisers throughout 2025. Interestingly, this disruption has encouraged local players to diversify their sourcing base, which will help ensure more competitive and resilient supply chains in the coming years," Sanjeev Kanwar, Managing Director of Yara International South-Asia told Business Standard.

 

Water soluble fertilisers, as the name suggests, are fertilisers which can be easily mixed in water and used through drip irrigation or sprinklers. These fertilisers do not leave any solid material behind and are known to raise yields.

 

For example, in banana cultivation, WSF usage has led to a 35 per cent reduction in water consumption and increased profits by up to Rs 98,000 per hectare.

 

Similarly, in tomato farming, WSF adoption has resulted in a 32 per cent reduction in water usage and profit growth of up to Rs 77,000 per hectare.

 

However, their growth has been slow in India due to high cost compared to conventional fertilisers, as the cost is highly prohibitive.

 

Sources said, for example, one kilogram of conventional fertiliser costs around Rs 5-6, but a kilogram of WSF costs around Rs 80-100.

 

WSFs does not fall but urea and DAP imports from China dip

 

In contrast to WSFs, trade experts said the more severe impact of the Chinese curbs on fertiliser imports to India has been on shipments of urea and di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) in bulk quantities.

 

In Fy-24, India imported around 26.5 per cent of its total urea imports from China which came down to just around 1.8 per cent in Fy-25. Similarly, China’s share in total DAP imported into India in Fy-24 was almost 40 per cent which has come down to 18.5 per cent in Fy-25.

 

Urea and DAP are the two most widely consumed fertilisers in India.