 "Fertiliser")
The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the principal Opposition party in Odisha, plans a major protest on Monday in front of the Raj Bhawan to highlight the fertiliser crisis in the state.
Last week in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy criticised Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu over a urea “shortage”. He alleged that an artificial scarcity of fertiliser has resulted in a scam worth ₹200-250 crore. Speaking at a press conference in the state capital, Reddy claimed that urea was being diverted for non-farming purposes with the help of senior state officials. The ruling dispensation strongly denied the accusation.
Several other states — including Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh — have previously flagged shortages of fertilisers, especially urea.
In July, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan wrote to states urging them to monitor and take swift action against black marketing, overpricing and the diversion of subsidised fertilisers.
As the kharif sowing season comes to an end across India, the acute shortage of urea has become a key concern for farmers awaiting the new harvest. Urea is used extensively during kharif to meet nitrogen requirements in paddy and maize cultivation. Di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) is more in demand during the rabi season.
Official data, however, shows no shortage of supply. In Andhra Pradesh, for example, in June this year, the state required 67,000 tonnes of urea but received 406,000 tonnes. Actual sales stood at 91,000 tonnes. In July, the requirement was 130,000 tonnes; supply was 399,000 tonnes, while sales amounted to 186,000 tonnes.
Punjab recorded a requirement of 220,000 tonnes in July. The supply was 663,000 tonnes, while sales stood at 409,000 tonnes. In Odisha, where protests are now underway, the state required 90,000 tonnes of urea in July, received 296,000 tonnes, and sold 132,000 tonnes, according to official data.
Cumulatively, in July, states placed urea requirement 3.92 million tonnes (mt); they received 9.16 mt, and sold 5.44 mt. In June, states required 3.17 mt, received 9.56 mt, and sold 3.42 mt. Other fertilisers followed a similar pattern. In July, states’ DAP requirement stood at 1.13 mt; availability was 2.47 mt, and sales were 1.08 mt. Complex fertilisers (MOP and NPKS) saw a requirement of 1.73 mt, supply of 6.53 mt, and sales of 2.40 mt.
Data for August is awaited.
So what’s causing shortage?
Lingaraj from the Paschim Odisha Krushak Sangathan Samanwaya Samiti (POKSSS) said the shortage in Odisha was due to low supplies relative to demand and black marketing by traders. He pointed to nano urea being sold alongside granular urea and rising demand in tribal areas, traditionally reliant on natural plant nutrients. “Moreover, earlier primary agriculture cooperative societies (PACS) distributed all fertilisers in the state, but now they are responsible for only half of the same; the rest is through private traders who indulge in black-marketing and hoarding to make profits,” Lingaraj told Business Standard.
Experts also noted that a sudden surge in demand as farmers rushed to expand paddy and maize cultivation contributed to the shortage. Some critics suggested the situation was manipulated to push up global urea prices as India placed large import tenders.
Between April and July (months preceding the kharif demand), data shows, domestic urea production fell by 8.3 per cent while sales increased by 14.15 per cent. For NPKS fertilisers, production rose by 6.6 per cent, but sales surged 27.23 per cent as farmers shifted from DAP to NPKS.
Imports rose significantly between April and July, with urea imports up 23 per cent and DAP up 35 per cent compared to the year-ago figures.
By September 5, paddy had been sown on 43.82 million hectares, a 4.7 per cent increase year-on-year, and maize covered 9.46 million hectares, up 12.2 per cent from the year-ago period. At one point, paddy acreage was almost 3 million hectares more than the corresponding period of 2024.
When it comes to monsoon rainfall, the showers this year have exceeded expectations. All-India average rainfall was 7 per cent above normal between June 1 and September 13.
Dinesh Singh, business head (fertilisers) at Reliance Industries, said the shortage stemmed from good monsoon, rising demand, falling imports, reduced domestic production, and hoarding by traders.
Sachchida Nand, visiting professor at ICRIER, said inventories at the national level were lower than last year, while sales rose by 12 per cent. “On top of that, distribution at the state level may have been flawed as farmers wanted to buy more in panic situations.”
There are multiple factors causing shortages at the retail level in a vast country like India and no single reason explains it all, he added.
