Urea imports jump over 2-fold to 58.62 lakh tons in Apr-Oct, no local shortage: Govt

New Delhi, Nov 3 (PTI) India's urea import has more than doubled to 58.62 lakh tonnes during April-October this year to meet domestic demand, the government on Monday said, while asserting that it has ensured adequate supply of fertilizers to farmers in the summer sowing season.

"Between April and October 2025, India imported 58.62 lakh tonnes of agricultural-grade urea, compared to 24.76 lakh tonnes during the same period in the previous year," the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers said in a statement.

Further, imports of 17.5 lakh tonnes are already lined up for November and December, it added.

The Department of Fertilizers said it has ensured adequate availability of fertilizers, including urea, across the country during the kharif 2025 season.

The government ensured that farmers received the required quantities of urea without any shortage.

The availability of urea was 230.53 lakh tonnes, as against the projected requirement of 185.39 lakh tonnes. Sales stood at 193.20 lakh tonnes. "This reflects sufficient all-India availability of urea." Farmers have consumed more urea in kharif 2025, to the tune of about 4.08 lakh tons, as compared to kharif 2024.

To bridge the gap between domestic production and increasing demand, the government made significant efforts to boost imports.

The rise in imports not only met the enhanced demand of urea during kharif 2025 but also helped to build adequate buffer stocks for the upcoming rabi season, the department said.

As a result, the overall urea stock increased from 48.64 lakh tonnes on October 1, 2025, to 68.85 lakh tonnes by October 31, 2025.

Domestic urea production in October 2025 reached 26.88 lakh tonnes, up by 1.05 lakh tonnes from the same month last year.

The average monthly production between April and October remained a robust nearly 25 lakh tonnes.

The department also stressed the need for effective action against diversion, smuggling, hoarding, and black marketing of urea. PTI MJH DRR