No Change in Fertilizer Prices Despite Global Surge, Supply Remains Robust: Govt

New Delhi: India plans to import 64 lakh tonnes of urea and 19 lakh tonnes of other fertilisers this kharif season due to a global surge in prices triggered by West Asia crisis. Addressing an inter-ministerial briefing, Aparna S Sharma, Additional Secretary in the Department of Fertilisers, confirmed retail prices of urea and DAP would remain unchanged. Urea continues to be sold at Rs 266.50 per 45 kg bag and DAP at Rs 1,350 per 50 kg bag. Of the planned imports, 9.4 lakh tonnes of urea have already been received since the crisis began, with another 13.07 lakh tonnes secured through a global tender in February. Additional 25 lakh tonnes are expected to arrive by May, primarily sourced from the Strait of Hormuz. Domestic production faced a setback in March due to force majeure on gas deliveries, reducing plant utilisation to 60-65 percent. Measures to import gas at higher costs have since improved urea production availability to 97 percent, resulting in a post-crisis domestic production of 35.4 lakh tonnes. The government has floated a global tender for importing 19 lakh tonnes of non-urea fertilisers, including 12 lakh tonnes of DAP, 4 lakh tonnes of Triple Superphosphate (TSP), and 3 lakh tonnes of Ammonium Sulphate. For April 1 to April 26, urea availability stood at 71.58 lakh tonnes against a requirement of 18.17 lakh tonnes. DAP availability was 22.35 lakh tonnes against a requirement of 5.90 lakh tonnes. MoP availability was 12.46 lakh tonnes and SSP at 26.26 lakh tonnes. The total fertiliser requirement for the 2026 kharif season is assessed at 390.54 lakh tonnes, with an opening stock of 190.21 lakh tonnes—nearly 49 percent of the seasonal requirement—already in place. The Department of Fertilisers affirmed that fertiliser security remains strong, stable, and well managed, with availability consistently exceeding requirements across all major fertilisers. No shortages have been reported so far.