NEW DELHI: Bapu Salunke, a 43-year-old grape grower based in Nashik, is increasingly worried about the rising prices of water-soluble fertilizers (WSF), which are essential for growing high-quality grapes suitable for export. The price of WSF has surged up to 30% and is expected to rise further in September when the grape growing season begins.
Water-soluble fertilizers, which are easily absorbed by plants, can be applied through drippers, sprinklers, or foliar spray, delivering nutrients directly to the plants rather than through the soil. “WSF sellers are accusing China of choking off its supply to India,” said a concerned Salunke, whose family's subsistence relies heavily on grape exports. Rising input costs will render him and many other growers uncompetitive in the international market.
China's actions are impacting not only India’s automotive industry but also its agricultural sector. After surprising the automobile market by limiting the supply of rare earth magnets, China has now restricted the supply of key ingredients for WSF used in India's horticulture sector.
These restrictions could threaten the viability of India's booming horticulture industry, which contributes approximately one-third of the agricultural GDP. Major horticulture crops that would be affected include grapes, pomegranates, bananas, and those grown in polyhouses for export. Foliar spray is also used on crops like wheat to sustain their nutrient levels.
Why trade restrictions
Over the past two months, China has invoked the China Inspection Quarantine (CIQ)—an obscure inspection delay tactic—resulting in a significant reduction in the supply of essential ingredients like Mono Ammonium Phosphate (MAP), which aids in flowering and fruit setting; Calcium Nitrate (CN), which shapes berry size and prevents cracking; and Potassium Nitrate (PN), which contributes to sugar formation and increases fruit weight.
Importers have indicated that China has effectively created a soft blockade through CIQ, unofficially banning exports to India while continuing to supply to other countries. Industry experts say that two major Chinese WSF producers, Chengdu Rocca Co., Ltd., and Shifang Anda Chemicals Co., Ltd., have even sought permission from the Chinese government to resume exports but have received no response to date.
India relies on China for 80% of the 4,00,000 metric tonnes (LMT) of WSF ingredients needed, primarily due to the higher quality and lower prices offered by them compared to those in the Middle East and Russia. However, recent data shows that imports have plummeted.
For example, imports of MAP were 12,525 MT in 2023 and 21,214 MT in 2024 but fell to just 2,842 MT by June 1. Similarly, imports of CN from China were 2,23,941 MT in 2023 but dropped to 49,311 MT by June 2025, and imports of PN decreased from 27,913 MT in 2024 to 16,837 MT.
“Chinese manufacturers are informally asking us to tap subsidiary or venture company partners in Sri Lanka, Dubai, and Vietnam so as to reroute supplies to India,” said Dr Swapnil Bachchhav, an expert on WSF who has assisted the Indian government in policymaking. “Unfortunately, we do not have any such partners in those countries where WSF shipments are unhindered. Some of us are exploring such routes,” Bachchhav added.
China imposed restrictions on WSF in 2023 but lifted them in 2024, leading to a record amount of imports by Indian traders, which are now being used to support horticulture.
India's horticulture sector is crucial for agricultural growth and needs protection. It currently covers over 13% of cropped land and contributes about one-third of the country’s agricultural GDP, surpassing grain production.
The horticulture industry needs soluble fertilizers to maintain quality and shelf life in order to compete in the international market. Using conventional fertilizers could result in a 30-40% reduction in production and degrade quality. “If timely intervention is not made, our international grape market could be taken over by Chile and Egypt, while the banana market could be dominated by African countries,” warned Bachchhav.
Dr. Kaushik Bannerjee, the Director of ICAR’s National Research Centre for Grapes, emphasized the gravity of the situation and urged the industry to view it as an opportunity. “We need to develop our own capacity to achieve self-sufficiency, as we can no longer allow ourselves to be blackmailed by any nation. We have the capacity; we just need some support,” said Bannerjee.
The Soluble Fertilizer Industry Association (SFIA) pointed out that India's current policies favour imports over promoting domestic manufacturing. “There is no level playing field,” said Rajib Chakraborty, president of SFIA. “Our domestic manufacturers are being compared to traders who directly import from China. We need numerous licenses to sell our quality products. There is an urgent need for changes to the government's Fertilizers Control Order, which is outdated for regulating the soluble fertilizers industry,” Chakraborty stated.
Shadow on food plate
The impact of Chinese influence extends beyond horticulture and goes right up to India’s food crop fields. The Chinese government fully owns an agrochemical company, Syngenta, which is a leading supplier of agricultural inputs in India, including insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, seeds for various crops, and biostimulants.
In 2017, ChemChina (China National Chemical Corporation) acquired the Swiss seeds and pesticides manufacturing group Syngenta for $43 billion, marking one of the largest foreign acquisitions by a Chinese government-owned company. Furthermore, in 2021, ChemChina merged with Sinochem, another state-owned corporation, to form Sinochem Holdings, under which Syngenta currently operates. Experts have begun to view this as a potential threat to India’s food security.
However, Dr M L Jat, Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), disagrees with the notion that a fully owned company poses a threat to food security in India. “We believe our food security comes from rice, wheat, pulses, and oilseeds, and no foreign companies, including Chinese firms, have a role in it,” Jat told this newspaper.
On July 16, 2024, ICAR, the Syngenta Foundation India (SFI), and Syngenta India Pvt. Ltd. signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote climate-resilient agriculture and enhance training programmes for farmers and rural youth. The details of the MoU are not publicly available, and Jat, who took charge of ICAR this year, declined to share further information. “The MoU was not signed during my term, so I can’t provide any details,” he stated.
While ICAR may downplay the threat posed by Chinese companies to India’s food security, recent developments suggest otherwise. There has been a gradual yet consistent entry of Chinese government-owned companies into India’s agricultural landscape.
In June 2024, ICAR commercially launched two non-GMO, herbicide-tolerant basmati rice varieties, Pusa Basmati 1979 and Pusa Basmati 1985. These varieties are designed to control weed growth and promote the water-saving Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) technique. Since these new varieties contain a mutated ALS gene, they allow for the direct application of the herbicide ‘Imazethapyr’ to eradicate weeds in the DSR system.
Here’s the catch: the only herbicide, ‘Imazethapyr’, is manufactured by Adama, a company owned by ChemChina. In 2020, ChemChina transferred its entire agricultural business to the Syngenta Group, which now also includes Adama.
A senior officer at the Ministry of Agriculture stated, “If the acreage of non-GM (Ht) basmati rice varieties increases, the Chinese government company Adama will not merely be a supplier of chemicals and get direct control of it.” Currently, India has around 44 million hectares of rice-growing areas. Experts caution against reliance on a single company for farm inputs.
Footprint in political constituencies
While India remains a major market for the Chinese government-owned Syngenta, the US Department of Agriculture is actively opposing Chinese investment in America’s agricultural sector, perceiving it as a threat to food security.
In India, Syngenta’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds target the political constituencies of the country’s agriculture ministers. Reports indicate that Syngenta invested its CSR funds in former Union agriculture minister Radhamohan Singh's constituency of East Champaran in Bihar (2014-2019), focusing on rural livelihoods, sustainable agricultural practices, and sanitation.
Moreover, it also invested in the constituencies of the next Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar (2019-2024) in Morena, Madhya Pradesh, and the Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Kailash Choudhary, in Barmer, a district sensitive from a national security perspective.
In Morena, Syngenta contributed to strengthening healthcare infrastructure and supporting farmers through training on safe agrochemical use. In Balotara, which became a separate district from Barmer in 2023, Syngenta developed the Vande Bharat Park.
Given the steady influence of Chinese companies in India’s political and agricultural landscapes, Ashwini Mahajan, co-convener of Swadeshi Jagran Manch—an organisation affiliated with the RSS—warned the government about the dubious activities of these companies.
“The Indian government should remain vigilant regarding Chinese companies and state-owned enterprises, and we should not repeat the mistakes we made in horticulture crops by relying on them alone,” Mahajan cautioned.