Fertilisers supply during ongoing Kharif sowing season comfortable: Govt

New Delhi, Aug 22 (PTI) The government on Friday asserted that the availability of fertilisers during the ongoing Kharif (summer-sown) season is comfortable and said it is committed to ensuring the timely and equitable supply of crop nutrients to farmers.

In an official statement, the Department of Fertilizers informed that the total availability is 183 lakh tonnes of urea against the pro-rata requirement of 143 lakh tonnes of urea. Sales of urea so far have been 155 lakh tonnes, which is 13 lakh tonnes higher than the year-ago period.

Similarly, in DAP, availability is 49 lakh tonnes against the pro-rata requirement of 45 lakh tonnes, and sales of 33 lakh tonnes have taken place.

In NPKs, the availability is 97 lakh tonnes against the pro-rata requirement of 58 lakh tonnes. As much as 64.5 lakh tonnes of NPKs have been sold so far.

The department said the government has ensured supplies despite global conflicts, which have affected both international availability and prices.

"Timely diplomatic engagements, logistical interventions, and long-term arrangements have ensured that our farmers do not face any scarcity," it added.

An arrangement of 25 lakh tonnes of DAP and TSP has been secured between a consortium of Indian fertiliser companies and Morocco.

Furthermore, in July 2025, a Long-Term Agreement (LTA) was signed between Saudi Arabia and Indian companies for the annual supply of 31 lakh tonnes of DAP for five years, starting 2025-26.

Due to these efforts, the department said the availability of fertilisers has remained comfortable in the states during the ongoing Kharif 2025 season so far.

"The prevalent geopolitical situation has affected the supplies of fertilizers to the country. The ongoing Red Sea crisis has disrupted the supplies to the country, resulting in re-routing of shipments via the Cape of Good Hope — adding over 6,500 km to the journey. This has significantly increased voyage time, particularly for DAP," it said.

The Russia-Ukraine war and Israel-Iran war have escalated the prices of fertilisers in the international market, the department pointed out.

The government highlighted that the country's urea production has increased to 306.67 lakh tonnes in 2024-25 from 227.15 lakh tonnes in 2013-14.

The production of DAP (di-ammonium phosphate) and NPKS fertilisers combined has grown 44 per cent to 158.78 lakh tonnes from 110.09 lakh tonnes during the same period.

"In order to shield the farmers from high international prices of fertilizers, the Government of India is giving huge subsidies to ensure that the fertilizers are made timely available to the farmers at affordable rates," the statement said.

Urea is being sold at a statutorily notified MRP of Rs 242 per 45 kg bag (excluding neem coating and applicable taxes).

To ensure DAP availability to farmers at Rs 1,350 per bag, the Centre has given a special package on DAP (Imported and Indigenous).

"The Government of India remains committed to ensure the timely and equitable availability of fertilizers to all farmers...," the department asserted. PTI MJH MJH SHW