Ministry calls for meeting on fertilizer shortage
The Ministry of Chemical substances and Fertilizers has identified as for an urgent conference with the industry this 7 days to type out the issue of fertilizer lack forward of the Rabi sowing period, which starts off early next thirty day period.
Regardless of govt doubling subsidy, fertilizer firms count on more rise in subsidy or de-management offering charges to instil self confidence for importing significant-value raw material and carry provide back to normalcy.
In June, the Union Cabinet had raised subsidies of DAP (Diammonium Phosphate) and other non-urea fertilizers by ₹14,775 crore. Even so, DAP import charges have enhanced by $a hundred and fifty a tonne considering the fact that then and domestic producers want the subsidy to be enhanced by ₹400-five hundred for every fifty kg bag or allow industry to market at ₹1,seven hundred versus the prevailing price of ₹1,200 a bag.
Small stock
DAP stock presently has extra than halved to 1.five million tonne versus three.six mt held past year across India. The stock of DAP in North India (Punjab, Haryana, UP, Rajasthan, United kingdom, Bihar, Jharkhand) has plunged to .seven mt versus two.1 mt past year.
According to Cell Fertilizer Management Procedure information, the regular DAP intake in the Rabi period in North India is about three.five mt.
The stock of MOP (Muriate of Potassium) is down thirty for every cent at .seventy five mt this year versus 1.07 mt held past year. MOP stock needs to be increased as it is the critical raw material to develop NPK (Nitrogen, phosphorous and potash) grades.
Rabi demand
DAP revenue including imports at the shopper-close for past rabi was sixty four.14 lakh tonnes (lt), whilst the yearly DAP revenue have been 109 lt. Imported MOP revenue have been at eighteen lt past rabi though each year it was at 33 lt, explained a fertilizer company govt.
Crops this sort of as wheat, mustard, potato, sugarcane, maize require extra fertilizer in northern and central states this sort of as Punjab, Haryana, UP, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka, he included.
Superior value
The charges of raw components made use of for the manufacture of fertilizers has zoomed in past 6 months, posing a hurdle in the domestic provide of fertilizers.
Value of ammonia, a single of the critical raw components, has enhanced by 65 for every cent to $654 a tonne this thirty day period versus $397 a tonne in March though phosphoric acid jumped fifty for every cent to $1,a hundred and sixty a tonne ($755 a tonne) in the similar interval.
With the rise in raw material charges MOP have jumped 25 for every cent to $280 a tonne versus $224 in March. DAP price has enhanced 70 for every cent to $675 a tonne.
Sabyasachi Majumdar, Senior Vice President, ICRA explained the restart of imports will count on the govt choice to either raise subsidy costs or allow the industry to freely resolve the retail charges for phosphatic fertilizers around the system of the next a single thirty day period.
“We estimate that the govt to raise DAP subsidy in between ₹5000-6000 a tonne to retain retail charges at acceptable levels for the farmers, he included.
