Urea

Domestic urea plants at half capacity as West Asia war choke gas supplies

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

Urea plants gets additional gas in spot auction; to operate at 80% capacity

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

Daily urea production poised to jump 22% by Mar-end as LNG supplies up 23%

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's urea imports from China hit 3-year high, Russia supplies also surge

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 ...

India asks china for urea as war-induced gas crunch hits plants

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

India logs record phosphatic, potassic fertiliser output in January 2026

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

Govt conducting pilots with Agristack to link land, fertiliser use, crops

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

Best of BS Opinion: India must find its way as it enters a new world order

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.

73% of India's fertiliser demand met via domestic production in 2025: Govt

This has happened as domestic production of fertilisers in 2025 reached an all-time record

India's urea imports jump over twofold to 7.17 MT in Apr-Nov: FAI

India's urea imports more than doubled to 7.17 million tonnes in the first eight months of the current fiscal year as domestic production declined, highlighting the country's growing dependence on foreign supplies to meet farmer demand, industry data showed on Monday. Urea imports jumped 120.3 per cent to 7.17 MT during April-November 2024-25 compared with 3.26 MT in the year-ago period, according to data released by the Fertiliser Association of India (FAI). Domestic urea production fell 3.7 per cent to 19.75 MT during the same period. Overall urea sales rose 2.3 per cent to 25.40 MT, the data showed. "While we've achieved sales growth through coordinated planning, the significant reliance on imports -- particularly for urea and DAP -- underscores the importance of strategic supply chain management," FAI Chairman S Sankarasubramanian said in a statement. In November alone, urea imports rose 68.4 per cent to 1.31 MT, compared to 0.78 MT in November 2024. Urea sales rose 4.8 per ce

IFFCO yet to submit nano urea evaluation report, sales lag production

The Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) has not submitted any evaluation report on the adoption of nano urea despite the fertiliser being in the market for over four years, Parliament was informed on Tuesday. Responding to a written query by BJP MP Narhari Amin from Gujarat, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Anupriya Patel said IFFCO has not sent any evaluation report regarding the adoption of nano urea. Meanwhile, sales of the product continue to lag behind production, with 2.49 crore bottles remaining unsold since its launch in February 2021. Since the launch, total 14.11 crore bottles (500 ml each) of nano urea have been produced nationwide up to November 30, 2025. During the same period, 11.62 crore bottles have been sold across the country, she said in the Rajya Sabha. In the current fiscal (2025-26), production stood at 1.67 crore bottles till November 30, while sales were lower at 1.38 crore bottles. However, in 2024-25, sales outpaced producti

Weak rupee may raise fertiliser import, production costs and subsidy load

A sliding rupee could make both fertiliser imports and domestic production costlier, pushing the subsidy bill higher as urea and DAP prices remain fixed for farmers

India braces for higher fertiliser prices as China suspends exports

India is preparing for higher fertiliser prices ahead of the crucial rabi (winter) crop season after China suspended exports of urea and specialty fertilisers from October 15, a senior industry official said on Tuesday. China, which had only recently resumed fertiliser exports from May 15 to October 15 with increased inspections, has now suspended the export window until further notice, affecting not just India but global markets as well. The suspension covers specialty fertilisers like TMAP (Technical Monoammonium Phosphate) and Urea-solution products like AdBlue, as well as conventional fertilisers such as DAP and urea. "China has closed the export window from October 15 not only for India but the entire world market," Soluble Fertilizer Industry Association (SFIA) President Rajib Chakraborty told PTI. "I believe the export suspension will be for the next 5-6 months," he said. India imports about 95 per cent of its specialty fertilisers, including phosphates like TMAP and ...

Urea shortage: Supplies in Jun-July exceeded states' requirement, sales

Despite images of farmers standing in line for urea, data shows that supplies to most states were more than both their requests and sales; shortages grew out of sudden demand due to increase in sowing

Centre approves 60,000 tonnes of urea for Chhattisgarh amid shortage

The state government has said it is addressing supply chain issues and promoting alternative fertilisers, due to the shortfall of diammonium phosphate (DAP) and urea

From boon to bane: How monsoon 2025 is turning into a nightmare for many

Above-normal monsoon this year has seen surge in kharif planting, driving up fertiliser demand, but heavy rains in northern states have also ruined standing crops, while floods have killed hundreds

A fresh approach needed to manage demand and supply of fertilisers

India is the second-largest consumer of fertilisers in the world, but lacks the natural resources to manufacture them

Nano fertilisers see a jump in sales, but questions around efficacy remain

While Iffco has seen an increase in the sale of both nano urea and nano DAP, some industry players say that despite its intrinsic benefits, nano has still not caught the imagination of some farmers

Agri sector waits to see if new NBS will absorb special incentive on DAP

The special incentive as well as the increase in NBS rates has also meant that DAP is now the second fertiliser, the other being urea, fpr which the Centre is keeping its prices artificially low

Govt approves setting up of urea plant in Assam at Rs 10,601.4 cr

The plant will be established with an estimated total project cost of Rs 10,601.40 crore with debt-equity ratio of 70:30 through a Joint Venture