‘India’s urea imports jump over two-fold to 7.17 MT in April-Nov’

New Delhi: India’s urea imports more than doubled to 7.17 million tonnes (MT) during April–November of the current fiscal year as domestic production declined, underlining rising dependence on overseas supplies to meet farm demand, industry data showed.

According to the Fertiliser Association of India (FAI), urea imports jumped 120.3 per cent from 3.26 MT a year earlier, while domestic production fell 3.7 per cent to 19.75 MT. Overall urea sales rose 2.3 per cent to 25.40 million tonnes during the period.

FAI Chairman S Sankarasubramanian said sales growth was achieved through coordinated planning, but the sharp reliance on imports, especially for urea and di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), highlighted the need for strategic supply chain management.

In November alone, urea imports rose 68.4 per cent to 1.31 MT, while sales increased 4.8 per cent to 3.75 MT.

Import dependence also increased for DAP, with overseas supplies accounting for 67 per cent of total availability, up from 56 per cent last year. Domestic DAP production declined 5.2 per cent to 2.68 MT, while sales remained flat at 7.12 MT.

Complex NPK fertilisers recorded strong growth, with production rising 13.8 per cent and imports nearly doubling. Muriate of potash sales grew 8.6 per cent.

Single super phosphate emerged as a bright spot, with sales up 15 per cent and production rising 9.5 per cent, reflecting farmer confidence in indigenous fertilisers.

Fertiliser Association of India said India is balancing planned imports with efforts to strengthen domestic nutrient production.