After the supply of fertiliser was impacted in the country due to the choking of the Strait of Hormuz, the government on Monday said it is diversifying its sourcing base beyond the Gulf countries.
Aparna S Sharma, joint secretary, Department of Fertilisers, said that fertiliser is being sourced from other nations such as Russia, Morocco, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Jordan, Canada, Algeria, Egypt, and Togo, among others. However, the government also urged the industry to use alternate fertilisers like Ammonium Sulphate (AS), TSP, SSP, FOM/LFOM and NANOs. Despite the curtailment in supply, the government said that stocks are in a healthy position as of now and there is no major requirement for any fertilisers in the upcoming 2.5 months. The country’s overall requirement for the upcoming Kharif season—as projected by the Department of Agriculture—stands at 390 lakh tonnes. In comparison, the actual sales during the Kharif season last year amounted to 361 lakh tonnes.
“Currently, we possess adequate stocks compared to last year. Our overall stock position as of today stands at 180 LMT (lakh metric tonnes)—up from 147 lakh tonnes last year—indicating that our stock levels are in a very healthy position,” she added.
The Gulf region is a major supplier of fertilizers such as DAP, MOP and NPK to India. It provides about 20–30% of urea and around 30% of DAP imports. Moreover, it also supplies nearly 50% of India’s LNG, which is an important raw material for making urea. Key inputs like ammonia, sulphur and sulphuric acid—used to produce P&K fertilisers in India—are also affected when supplies from this region are disrupted.In 2024–25, about 63% of India’s urea imports came from Gulf countries like Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, while the region accounted for around 32% of DAP imports.
Aparna S. Sharma said urea and DAP are being made available to farmers at regulated prices: ₹266 per 45 kg bag of urea, and ₹1,350 per 50 kg bag of DAP.
Meanwhile, Special Secretary in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Rajesh Kumar Sinha, said that two LPG carriers—BW TYR and BW ELM—have successfully cleared the Strait of Hormuz and are now en route to Indian ports. The BW ELM is scheduled to report at Mumbai port tomorrow, while the BW TYR is expected to report at New Mangalore on April 1. Together, these two LPG carriers are carrying approximately 94,000 metric tonnes of LPG.