India's imports from Russia rose 64 per cent to USD 36.27 billion during the April-October period this fiscal on higher shipments of crude oil and fertiliser, according to the commerce ministry data. With this, Russia has become India's second-largest import source during the first seven months of this fiscal. The imports were USD 22.13 billion during April-October 2022. From a market share of less than 1 per cent in India's import basket before the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia's share of India's oil imports rose to over 40 per cent. India, the world's third-largest crude importer after China and the United States, has been buying Russian oil after some countries in the West shunned it as a means of punishing Moscow for invading Ukraine. The ministry's data showed that imports from China dipped marginally to USD 60.02 billion during the period against USD 60.26 billion in the year-ago period. Similarly, imports from the US declined 16 per cent to USD 24.89 billion
Domestic credit ratings agency Crisil on Tuesday said some sectors such as fertilisers and diamonds may be slightly impacted by the conflict in the Middle East. On a broader basis, the conflict has caused only a negligible disruption in India's trade so far, it said in a note. Some sectors such as fertilisers and diamonds both cut and polished may see a slight, but manageable, impact, while for most others impact will be insignificant, it said. However, it said that the conflict which started after the surprise October 7 attacks by Hamas against Israel has driven up prices of gold and crude oil which need to be watched. It said crude oil price movements are especially important for a country like India which depends on imports, and added that elevated crude oil prices have a cascading impact on a host of other sectors that consume the oil itself or linked raw materials. The agency said India's trade with Israel is relatively low, with the country accounting for only 1.9 per ce
An expenditure of Rs 22,303 crore is expected on the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) in the upcoming Rabi season
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) rates for Rabi season, 2023-24, on Phosphatic and Potassic (P & K) fertilizers to ensure the availability of fertilisers to farmers at "subsidised, affordable and reasonable" rates.Briefing the media on the decisions of the union cabinet, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said the decisions are expected to entail an expenditure of Rs 22,303 crore."Subsidy for the Rabi season from October 1, 2023 till March 31, 2024, will be like this - for the nitrogen it will be Rs 47.2 per kg, phosphorus will be Rs 20.82 per kg, potash subsidy will be Rs 2.38 per kg and the sulphur subsidy will be Rs 1.89 per kg," he said."The subsidy will continue because when international prices rise, the government does not want it to impact our farmers in the country... Subsidy on DAP will continue...DAP will be available for Rs 1350 per bag as per the old rate. The NPK will be available at Rs 1,470 per bag," he added.
An agriculture department official said that, according to the proposal, around Rs 21 crore will be given as subsidy to the farmers to use improved technology
A complex and unwieldy regulatory and monitoring process could raise the costs for Indian companies
Company will give them to 5,000 select entrepreneurs free of cost and train them for use
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"There will be no shortages of fertilisers in the kharif season. We have adequate stocks, and our companies have made arrangements in advance," Mansukh Mandaviya said
India imported 34.19 lakh tonnes of fertilisers, including urea and DAP, from Russia during April-February of the current fiscal, highest in the last three years, according to the data placed before Parliament. The imports have risen notwithstanding the Russia-Ukraine war. "....import of urea in the current year up to February (during the ongoing Ukraine war) is more than double as compared to the previous year," Minister of State for Fertilisers Bhagwanth Khuba said in his written reply to the Lok Sabha. Out of total fertiliser import of 34.19 lakh tonnes, about 6.26 lakh tonnes of urea was imported till February of the ongoing 2022-23 financial year, as against 2.80 lakh tonnes imported during the entire previous fiscal, he said. Apart from urea, Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP), Muriate of Potash (MoP) and NPK were the other fertilisers imported from Russia. DAP imports stood at 7.65 lakh tonnes, MoP at 0.43 lakh tonnes and NPK at 19.85 lakh tonnes during April-February period of th
Fertiliser major IFFCO Ltd is eyeing nano urea exports to 25 countries and expecting that output is likely to be 30 crore bottles by December 2024, a top company official said on Tuesday. The company is currently exporting the fertiliser to five countries, he said. "We have already produced six crore bottles of 500 ml each and have sold five crore units to farmers, which is equivalent to 22 lakh tonne of solid urea or conventional urea...We are already exporting to Sri Lanka, Nepal, Kenya, Suriname and Mexico," Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO) Managing Director US Awasthi told PTI in an interview. After Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the world's first nano urea plant at Kalol in Gujarat last year, the company is exporting the fertiliser product, which has the potential to cut down the use of conventional urea, the most used Nitrogenous fertiliser, by 50 per cent or more, to the five nations, he said. Nano urea samples have been sent to 25 other countries and
Profit and turnover for the corresponding nine months of the previous year was Rs 119.84 crore and Rs 2,732.25 crore, respectively
India imported 152.7 lakh tonne of fertiliser, including urea and P&K, till December of the current fiscal, Parliament was informed on Friday. Sharing data in his written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Bhagwant Khuba said: "The country imported 62.44 lakh tonne of urea and 90.26 lakh tonne of phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilisers during April-December period of the current fiscal". Among P&K fertilisers, the country imported 53.18 lakh tonne of Di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), 16.22 lakh tonne of Muriate of Potash (MoP) and 20.86 lakh tonne of NPK soil nutrients till December of the current fiscal. In the case of domestic production, the minister said the country's total fertiliser production reached 362.73 lakh tonne during the April-December period of this fiscal. This includes 210.98 lakh tonne of urea and 151.75 lakh tonne of P&K fertilisers. During 2021-22, the total domestic fertiliser production stood at 435.95 lakh ...
Asked why India is continuing to import cheap Russian gas despite international opprobrium, Singh said India imports less gas from Russia in a month than Europe does in a day
Nano-fertilisers will reduce subsidy outgo
The growth is in line with the government's target to increase the share of natural gas in its energy mix to 15 per cent by 2030 as part of its environmental commitments
Russia's export of mineral fertilizers may drop by 15 per cent this year, better than a 20-per cent reduction projected in the summer, said a top official
In the past one month, the market prices of RCF, MFL, FACT and NFL have surged in the range of 38 per cent to 60 per cent on the BSE
Urea production stood at 187.21 lakh tonnes during April-November period of this fiscal, while imports were at 46.14 lakh tonnes to meet domestic demand. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Bhagwanth Khuba shared the data for consumption, production and import of urea in the last three years. As per the data, urea production stood at 250.72 lakh tonnes in the 2021-22 fiscal as against 246.05 lakh tonnes in 2020-21 and 244.58 lakh tonnes in the 2019-20 financial year. Urea imports stood at 91.36 lakh tonnes in the last fiscal, 98.28 lakh tonnes in 2020-21 and 91.23 lakh tonnes in 2019-20. Urea is presently sold in 45-kg bags and the maximum retail price (MRP) is Rs 242 per bag (excluding charges towards neem coating and taxes as applicable). "The subsidy provided per 45kg bag of urea is approximately Rs 1800 (Q1 of 2022-23)," the minister said. The difference between the production cost and MRP is reimbursed as subsidy to fertilis
Since the quality control order 3 years ago, toy import down 70 per cent