India fertiliser imports set for record $18 billion this fiscal year

MUMBAI: India’s fertiliser imports for the current fiscal year are expected to surge 76% from a year earlier to a record $18 billion, government and industry officials said on Wednesday as consumption jumped after heavy rains prompted farmers to expand their crop areas.

“There has been a sharp rise in urea and DAP (Diammonium Phosphate) imports this year, which is pushing up the overall fertiliser import bill,” said a government official, who declined to be named because they were not authorised to speak publicly.

In the first nine months of the fiscal year that ends in March, India’s fertiliser imports surged 71% from a year earlier to $13.98 billion.

In the March quarter, a large volume of urea and other fertiliser shipments is expected to land, which will cost at least another $4 billion, the official said.

India spent $10.23 billion on fertiliser imports in the last fiscal year after hitting an all-time high of $17.21 billion in 2022-2023 when global prices surged following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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Fertiliser consumption is expected to rise by at least 5% this year from a year earlier, as ample monsoon rainfall encouraged farmers to increase planting, said P.S. Gahlaut, managing director of Indian Potash, a leading importer.

India recorded 8% above-average rainfall during the June–to-September southwest monsoon, followed by precipitation that was 49% higher than normal in October, providing ample soil moisture for the sowing of winter crops like wheat, rapeseed and chickpeas.

Indian farmers have so far planted winter-grown crops on 65.23 million hectares since sowing began on October 1, up 3.3% from a year earlier, data from the agricultural ministry showed.

“Urea consumption has gone up this year because of good back-to-back monsoon rains and strong rice acreage,” said S. Sankarasubramanian, chairman of the Fertiliser Association of India, an industry body representing fertiliser producers. “Maize production has also pushed up urea consumption.”

Urea imports are expected to rise as much as 61% from a year earlier to 9 million metric tons, while DAP imports could jump 52% to 7 million tons, Sankarasubramanian said.

India imports urea and DAP mainly from Oman, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia and Morocco.