Urea

Total domestic fertiliser production (that includes DAP, NPKS and others) stood at 6.23 million tonnes during March-April, while imports were at 1.53 million tonnes

Rising import costs are likely to increase India's fertiliser subsidies to companies for selling crop nutrients to farmers below market prices

Urea from the West Asia, a major supplier to the South Asian nation, was quoted at $490 a ton before the war began, according to Green Markets data

India's fertiliser output contracts in FY26, hit by LNG shortages and shutdowns, marking the sector's weakest performance in over a decade

IPL tender receives urea import offers totalling 5.6 million tonnes

India's fertiliser subsidy breached FY26 estimates before the West Asia crisis, with rising imports and consumption set to push the bill higher

Indian Potash Limited has also started scouting for imports of 2.5 million tonnes of urea from global markets

India, where farming is a mainstay, imports fertilisers such as urea, diammonium phosphate (DAP) and muriate of potash, as well as liquefied natural gas, a key feedstock for urea production

India regularly imports urea through global tenders to meet local demand

In third part of series on West Asia impact, wholesalers warn of thin stocks as hoarding fears drive early fertiliser buying

The government has also secured arrangements for 2.8 million tonnes of urea from Russia through the Cape of Good Hope route

The government has extended the state trade enterprise (STE) status of Indian Potash Ltd till March 31, 2027 for import of urea, according to a notification. India produced 306.67 lakh tonnes of urea in 2024-25 and imported 56.47 lakh tonnes of the nutrient to meet the domestic demand. The country has imported 98 lakh tonnes of urea in the first eleven months of this fiscal year. "Import of Urea (Agricultural grade) on Government account is allowed through Indian Potash Ltd... till 31.03.2027," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has said in a notification dated March 27. The move is important as the West Asia crisis has disrupted global fertiliser trade.

India's urea plants are running at half capacity after force majeure declarations disrupted LNG flows through the Strait of Hormuz amid escalating West Asia tensions, industry sources said on Sunday. Petronet LNG Ltd, which operates India's largest liquefied natural gas receiving terminal, declared force majeure after upstream suppliers cited their inability to deliver contracted volumes amid disruptions to cargoes transiting the Strait, sources said. The move triggered supply curtailments by state-owned gas distributors GAIL (India) Ltd, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), which supply gas under RasGas contracts to fertiliser units across the country. "Gas supplies have been curtailed to approximately 60-65 per cent of normal levels," a senior industry official told PTI, adding that when scheduled plant turnarounds over the past six months were factored in, effective supply at some units had fallen below 50 per cent. Urea output at affecte

Fertiliser companies have purchased additional natural gas from the spot market to ramp up urea production at their plants, which are operating well below capacity due to a fuel shortage amid the West Asia crisis, a senior government official said on Thursday. After the procurement of additional natural gas, urea plants are expected to operate at 78-80 per cent capacity compared to 62 per cent currently. India produced 306.67 lakh tonnes of urea in 2024-25 and imported 56.47 lakh tonnes of the nutrient to meet the domestic demand. The country has imported 98 lakh tonnes of urea in the first eleven months of this fiscal. Fertiliser plants in the country require about 52 million metric standard cubic metres per day (MMSCMD) of natural gas to operate at full capacity, but were receiving only around 32 MMSCMD, meeting barely 62 per cent of their requirement, resulting in a significant shortfall in urea output, the official told PTI. To address this, a spot auction was conducted by the

The 52 MMSCMD LNG requirement is based on the average natural gas consumption by urea making units in the last six months (September 2025-February 2026)

India imported 21.24 lakh tonne of urea from China between April 2025 and February 2026, the highest in three years, even as total fertiliser imports from China and Russia rose sharply this fiscal year, as per the government data placed before Parliament on Friday. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Fertilisers Anupriya Patel said that India had sourced fertilisers from both countries, with Chinese urea imports dramatically outpacing the 0.99 lakh tonne recorded in the full fiscal year 2024-25 and also exceeding 18.65 lakh tonne in 2023-24 and 12.80 lakh tonne in 2022-23. Beyond urea, India imported 5.11 lakh tonne of Di Ammonium Phosphate (DAP), 0.28 lakh tonne of Muriate of Potash (MoP) and 9.61 lakh tonne of NPK fertiliser from China between April 2025 and February 2026, bringing total phosphatic and potassic imports to 15 lakh tonne. Urea imports from Moscow stood at 13.99 lakh tonne till February, already higher than the 9.23 lakh tonne imported in ...

The move is a sign of the unusual measures countries are taking to secure key commodities as US-Israeli attacks in Iran snarl global trade and raise risks for food and energy supplies

This signals a significant step towards strengthening India's fertiliser self-sufficiency, reducing dependence on imports in a segment that has traditionally relied heavily on overseas supplies

Agriculture Secretary Rajat Kumar Mishra said that in Haryana, an experiment was conducted to connect land, fertiliser usage and crops grown using Agristack, and it showed remarkable results

From India's role in a changing global order to fertiliser reform, export ambitions and the EV supply chain, today's Best of BS Opinion brings together key editorials and columns.