Urea sales till December 31 in current fiscal recorded an increase of 6.4 per cent to 300.26 lakh tonnes (lt) from 282.08 lt year-ago, whereas sales of all fertilizers put together increased 7.3 per cent to 525.92 lt, mainly due to lower sales of Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP) fertilizers, according to latest official data.
On the other hand, total sales of DAP dipped 12.7 per cent to 86.23 lt during April-December. However, Muriate of Potash (MOP) rose 31.6 pert cent to 16.78 lt and complex increased by 27.1 per cent to 122.65 lt. Complex fertilizer is a combination of nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), potash (K) and sulphur (S) nutrients.
The government had earlier fixed a target to make India self-sufficient in urea by 2025 and despite higher sales, its import has been contained.
Import of urea, controlled by the government, was recorded at 43.16 lt during the first nine months against 60.71 lt year-ago — a fall of 28.9 per cent. There was record import of urea at 98.28 lt during entire FY 2020-21.
Low base effect
Import of overall fertilizers also dropped 18.4 per cent to 120.54 lt during April-December, in which complex import declined 16.1 per cent at 14.85 lt from 17.71 lt and DAP by 19.1 per cent to 40.82 lt from 50.47 lt. But, MOP import surged 15.3 per cent to 21.71 lt, which industry experts attributed to low base effect.
The government is now planning to make a similar push for nano DAP what it did in case of nano urea so that the consumption of the phosphatic fertilizer is also reduced, without affecting crop yield.
Production of all fertilizers was up 1.6 per cent to 391.62 ltt, which included urea at 232.02 lt (237.09 lt), DAP 31.5 lt (34.2 lt), Complex 81.94 lt (73.85 lt), SSP 40.57 lt (35.58 lt) and Ammonium Sulphate 5.59 lt (4.66 lt).
Record sales of fertilizers during October-December quarter, the key period for rabi season, has been reported with 21 per cent increase in volume and each of the key segments — urea, DAP, potash, complex reporting higher offtake.
Fertilizer subsidy
Meanwhile, urea subsidy has reached ₹98,258.74 crore, while that for potash and phosphorus has hit ₹ 40,990.67 crore, which together is 84.9 per cent of ₹1,64,000 crore allocated in Budget (BE). The government is yet to announce the Revised Estimate which will see an upward revision due to hike on subsidy on DAP twice this fiscal to keep selling prices at ₹1,350/bag.