New Delhi, March 30 (IANS) The government on Monday said that there is an adequate stock of fertilisers at about 180 lakh metric tonnes (LMT), compared with 147 LMT a year ago, despite the escalating West Asia crisis and supply issues.
Additional Secretary, Department of Fertilisers, Aparna Sharma, however, said that domestic urea output has taken a hit.
“As of today, we have an adequate stock position. Urea and Diammonium phosphate (DAP) are made available to farmers at regulated prices,” she said at an inter-ministerial briefing, adding that supplies remain under control.
“The global fertiliser market has been affected, and prices have increased due to the prevailing geopolitical situation. Our freight costs have also increased,” Sharma added.
India is dependent on imports of urea and phosphatic fertilisers to meet the demand of the agriculture sector. To ensure a stable and assured supply in view of this dependency, the Department of Fertilisers has facilitated the signing of long-term agreements between Indian companies KRIBHCO, IPL and CIL with Saudi Arabia’s Maaden for the supply of 31 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of DAP and NPK annually to India over a five-year period from 2025-26 to 2029-30.
Sharma further informed that April and May are generally lean months used for inventory build-up, adding that supplies had already been arranged in advance. “We are diversifying our sourcing bases and procuring supplies from Russia, Morocco, Australia, Algeria, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Canada, etc,” she added.
Meanwhile, Joint Secretary, Marketing and Oil Refinery, in the Petroleum Ministry, Sujata Sharma, said during the regular briefing that inventories are sufficient across products and the country has adequate stocks of petrol, diesel, LPG and LNG.
“Crude inventories are adequate,” she said. The ministries have backed the expansion of piped natural gas (PNG) infrastructure, while relief measures have also been rolled out for vulnerable groups.
Around 1.04 crore LPG booking requests came in the last two days, and 92 lakh deliveries were completed.
Enforcement action has also intensified, with 2,500 raids and 2,000 cylinders seized on Sunday, Sharma said.
–IANS
na/vd