Fertiliser supply disrupted, how does government plan to meet shortfall?

News: India is facing challenges in maintaining its supply of fertilizers since the start of Ukraine-Russia war.

India’s total availability of fertilizer is calculated based on the 3 parameters: 1.) Opening stocks, 2.) Domestic production and 3.) Imports.

India depends on imports for potash, which is used for manufacturing fertilisers.

What are the factors affecting the supply of fertilizers?

Covid induced disruptions: Major fertiliser exporters such as China reduced their exports due to production cuts. India was sourcing 40–45% of its phosphatic imports from China.

Surge in demand for fertilisers in regions like Europe, America, Brazil, and Southeast Asia.

Russia Ukraine war has hindered the supply line of fertilizer. For example, Morocco procures ammonia from Russia for manufacturing DAP (diammonium phosphate).

India domestic production is also affected due to war. The raw material required for domestic production is also not sufficiently available.

Price is rising due to increased logistics and freight costs after covid.

What are the steps taken by the government to control fertiliser’s supply?

Government has increased the Nutrients Based Subsidy (NBS) rates for Kharif 2022.

India has entered into a C2C (corporation to corporation) supply arrangement with Russian companies for 2.5 LMT DAP/NPK every year for 3 years.

India is preparing some alternative sources, such as Saudi Arabia and Iran.

For domestic production of urea, the government is focusing on reviving new production units.

As per the news report, the government is exploring the option of domestically mining raw materials such as rock phosphate.

Source: This post is created based on the article “Fertiliser supply disrupted, how does government plan to meet shortfall?” published in Indian Express on 14^th May 2022.