Fertilizers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday laid the foundation stone of a Rs 10,601-crore brownfield ammonia-urea plant in Dibrugarh district of Assam. The Assam Valley Fertiliser and Chemical Company Ltd (AVFCCL) will have an annual urea production capacity of 12.7 lakh metric tonnes, and the project is scheduled for commissioning in 2030. In July this year, AVFCCL was incorporated at Namrup in Dibrugarh district. A new plant within the existing premises of the Brahmaputra Valley Fertiliser Corp Ltd (BVFCL) was approved by the Union Cabinet in March this year. AVFCCL is a joint venture among the Assam government, Oil India, National Fertilisers Ltd (NFL), Hindustan Urvarak & Rasayan Ltd (HURL) and BVFCL.

Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman told Parliament on Monday that there was no shortage of fertiliser in the country, whether it was imported or domestically produced

Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd (IFFCO) Managing Director K J Patel has projected a 10 per cent net profit growth for FY26, even as the cooperative grapples with sluggish domestic adoption of its flagship nano fertilisers and intensifies farmer training programmes to unlock their potential. In an interview to PTI, Patel, a four-decade IFFCO veteran who recently took over from U S Awasthi after his 32-year tenure, outlined a holistic strategy centred on the cooperative's "crown jewel"- its enduring bond with 36,000 cooperatives and over 5 crore farmers. "Our motto is to make sure that fertilisers are manufactured and they are also delivered to farmers with enough explanation how to use them, when to use them," said Patel, emphasising soil-specific guidance and quality seed advice aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's goal of doubling farmers' income. Four years after launch, nano fertilisers- touted as eco-friendly alternatives to chemical inputs - remain IFFCO's most

India's top fertiliser co-operative plans overseas units with buyback pacts to secure scarce inputs like rock phosphate

India's fertilizer imports are estimated to jump 41 per cent to 22.3 million tonnes in the 2025-26 fiscal year due to a surge in domestic demand following good monsoon rains, the Fertilizer Association of India (FAI) said on Tuesday. The world's second-largest fertilizer consumer has imported 14.45 million tonnes during April-October, up nearly 69 per cent from 8.56 million tonnes a year earlier, the industry body said. "There has been an increase in imports of fertilizers because of a sudden spurt in domestic demand because of good rains," FAI Chairman S Shankarsubramanian told reporters ahead of the association's three-day annual seminar. Fertilizer stocks stood at 10.2 million tonnes by end-November versus 9.97 million tonnes a year earlier, including 5 million tonnes of urea, 1.7 million tonnes of DAP and 3.5 million tonnes of NPK fertilizers, he said. Shankarsubramanian, who is also managing director of Coromandel International, said India has contracted large volumes in the l

The government has cancelled 5,371 licences of fertiliser firms for black marketing, hoarding as well as for distributing substandard material, Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers Jagat Prakash Nadda said in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. In response to a question asked by BJP member Kiran Choudhary, Nadda said while states are empowered to take action on malpractices, the Centre takes action under the Essential Commodities Act of 1955 and the Fertiliser Control Order to check malpractices such as diversion, hoarding and overpricing. He said action on substandard material is taken under the Fertiliser Control Order. "We would like to tell you, as you asked, from April 1 to November 28, there were 5,058 show-cause notices in black marketing, FIRs were lodged in 442 cases and licences cancelled were 3,732," Nadda said. Similarly, in hoarding, there were 687 show-cause notices, 202 licence cancellations and 446 FIRs. In the case of distributing substandard material, show-cause ..

Spices exports have been hit hard due to punitive US tariffs

Hike to compensate for rising import price of sulphur, phosphorus and DAP

The Union Cabinet approved the terms of reference for the 8th Central Pay Commission and cleared new nutrient-based subsidy rates for fertilisers for the Rabi 2025-26 season

Russia's share in India's total fertiliser imports has grown from 7.68 per cent in 2017-18 to almost 27 per cent in 2023-24

Volume growth of complex fertilisers is expected to slow down to 2-4 per cent in this financial year from 9 per cent last year amid import constraints, geopolitical headwinds and a high-base effect, a report said on Thursday. Crisil Ratings in the report stated that supply disruptions have also led to a rise in raw material prices, which in turn may increase the subsidy requirement. However, credit profiles are seen stable because of steady profitability, expected additional subsidy allocation and its timely disbursement, said the report. "Volume growth of complex fertilisers is seen slowing to 2-4 per cent this fiscal after a strong 9 per cent print last fiscal because of availability issues with imported fertilisers, ongoing geopolitical disruptions and high-base effect," the report said. Complex fertilisers account for a third of the overall domestic fertiliser consumption of which nitrogen phosphorus potassium (NPK) grades comprise 55 per cent and di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) ..

The urea 'shortage' reveals deeper problems: Supply mismanagement, black markets, and panic-driven demand surge

More than 500 Congress workers and farmers staged a protest in Madhya Pradesh's Mauganj on Sunday, alleging fertiliser shortage and other issues, breaching a barricade erected by the police to prevent them from meeting Chief Minister Mohan Yadav. Protesters in vehicles led by former Congress MLA Sukhendra Singh Bana clashed with the police, climbing over barricades to reach the chief minister, who was at a function in the Deotalab area 16 km away. The police erected barricades at the Bahuti bypass near Mauganj police station, and the protesters were not allowed to move ahead. "We detained more than 500 protesters for a while, and freed them after the chief minister's function got over. The situation is peaceful," Mauganj additional superintendent of police Vikram Singh told PTI. During the protest, former MLA Singh Bana alleged that they were raising serious issues affecting farmers and poor people. He claimed that farmers were not getting fertilisers and were being unduly harasse

The GST reduction on agricultural inputs and machinery could lower farmers' cultivation costs, boosting incomes, while also making seafood products more affordable for domestic consumers

GST Council meet: GST on farm machinery, tractors, fertilisers and other agri items cut to 5 per cent from higher rates, giving relief to farmers

India's specialty fertilizer industry is grappling with new regulations that have brought biostimulants under government control, with industry body warning that many small manufacturers may face closure due to compliance costs. The February 2025 amendment to the Fertilizer Control Order (FCO) has created significant challenges for the biostimulant sector, which operated without regulation for nearly a decade. "The industry is not fully ready to adopt the new regulations. They have to make a lot of investment. Many small SMEs who are operating will be wiped out in the process," Rajib Chakraborty, President of the Soluble Fertilizer Industry Association (SFIA), told PTI in an interview. The non-subsidized fertilizer segment includes soluble fertilizers, organic fertilizers, micronutrients, and stimulants -- collectively known as SOMS. While the first three categories have long been regulated under the Fertilizer Control Order, stimulants are now being brought under regulatory oversi

India's specialty fertiliser industry is bracing for renewed supply challenges as China prepares to reimpose export restrictions from October, potentially triggering price hikes that will directly impact farmers, a senior industry official said on Saturday. The temporary resumption of Chinese specialty fertiliser exports has provided short-term relief, but this reprieve will be brief as Beijing plans to tighten export controls through increased inspections and consignment delays from next month. "It's a temporary fix because China is closing the export window from October. They will be closing it for the entire world market, not only for India," Rajiv Chakraborty, President of the Soluble Fertilizer Industry Association, told PTI in an interview. While issues between India and China appear resolved for now, the restriction pattern is expected to resume. "Once they stop the supplies or they start restricting the supplies, they don't stop it completely. They restrict it by imposing ..

Naveen Patnaik has written to Union Minister JP Nadda warning of urea shortages in Odisha, citing black marketing, inflated prices and farmer protests during the kharif season

The restrictions on three key items were raised by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during his meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last month

Fertiliser manufacturer Paradeep Phosphates Ltd (PPL) plans to invest over Rs 1,500 crore in capacity expansion over the next three years, targeting sales of 3 million tonnes in FY26 as it seeks to double its market share in India's 20-million tonnes phosphatic fertiliser sector. The Bhubaneswar-headquartered company, which reported nearly Rs 14,000 crore turnover in FY25, aims to increase its market share from 12 per cent to 25 per cent by expanding production capacity from 2.6 million tonnes to 3.7 million tonnes by 2026. "Fertiliser sales have really picked up early this season with robust growth at retail and farmer levels. The water availability across our marketing areas has been quite good," PPL Managing Director and CEO Suresh Krishnan told PTI in an interview. The PPL's expansion strategy centres on the amalgamation of Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd (MCFL), expected to close in the third quarter of the current financial year. This acquisition will add 7,00,000 ...