Urea, DAP imports rise 63% in April to Jan, govt ensures adequate supply

New Delhi: The government on Friday said adequate supply of urea and DAP fertiliser has been ensured for farmers across the country, with imports of the two key nutrients surging 63 per cent during April-January of the current fiscal.

The development assumes significance as the West Asia war, which broke out on February 28, has raised concerns over global fertiliser supply chains.

However, the bulk of the import surge predates the conflict. According to Fertiliser Ministry data, the total imports of urea and Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) rose to 14.94 million tonne in April-January of 2025-26 from 9.17 million tonne in the year-ago period.

Urea imports rose 83.3 per cent to 8.93 million tonne during the period against 4.87 million tonne a year earlier. DAP imports surged to 9.03 million tonne from 4.30 million tonne in the corresponding period.

Urea and DAP are the two fertilisers consumed the most in India.

The domestic production of urea and DAP, however, remained marginally lower at 28.49 million tonne during April-January of 2025-26 against 29.27 million tonne in the year-ago period.

The total sale of urea and DAP rose marginally to 44.39 million tonne from 43.61 million tonne in the said period.

The sale of Nano Urea and Nano DAP during April-January 2025-26 stood at 18.25 million bottles and 14.93 million bottles (500 ml equivalent), respectively.

Urea is a highly subsidised fertiliser with its maximum retail price kept unchanged at Rs 242 per 45 kg bag (exclusive of neem coating charges and applicable taxes) since 2018. “There is no proposal to increase the price of urea,” Minister of State for Fertilisers Anupriya Patel said in her written reply to Parliament this week.