No hike in fertilizer retail prices for farmers despite global surge

The government has assured farmers that retail fertilizer prices will not increase, despite a sharp rise in global costs due to the West Asia crisis. Availability remains strong for the Kharif season, with supplies exceeding demand for Urea and DAP.

The government on Monday said there will be no increase in retail prices of fertilisers for farmers, even as global prices have surged sharply amid the ongoing West Asia crisis. Aparna S Sharma, Additional Secretary in the Department of Fertilizers, said the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of key fertilizers remains unchanged despite a sharp rise in import costs.

"MRP of all major fertilisers remains the same. There is no change. Urea continues at Rs 266.5 per 45 kg bag. DAP continues to be at 1,350 per 50 kg bag," Sharma said at an inter-ministerial briefing.

However, she acknowledged that global procurement costs have risen significantly. "Regarding the cost, yes, of course, the price of Urea that we have discovered through the global tender has almost doubled, and the price of other fertilisers has also increased," she said while responding to media queries.

Fertilizer Availability Remains Strong

Despite these pressures, the government said fertilizer availability remains strong, with supplies exceeding demand across the country. "Fertilizer availability remains robust and the supplies continuously continue to exceed the requirement... no shortages have been reported so far," Sharma said.

Highlighting the supply position for the ongoing Kharif season, she said, "Urea availability is 71.58 LMT against the requirement of 18.17 LMT. Similarly, DAP availability is 22.35 LMT against 5.90 LMT across the country."

The government has also built a strong buffer stock ahead of the peak agricultural season. "The fertilizer requirement has been assessed at 390.54 LMT against which our stock position is 190.21 LMT... about 49 per cent of opening stock is already available, which is supposed to be usually 33 per cent," she noted.

Measures to Ensure Uninterrupted Supply

To ensure an uninterrupted supply, Sharma said the government has diversified import sources and stepped up procurement. "To ensure sustained availability, the government has already diversified its import sources... any shortfall... has been overcome with a strong import diversified portfolio," she said.

She added that fresh tenders have been floated for key fertilizers to meet peak demand. "In DAP, TSP and ammonium sulphate... 12 LMT DAP, 4 LMT TSP and 3 LMT ammonium sulphate has been floated," she said.

Reassuring stakeholders, Sharma said the government does not foresee any major disruption in supply. "At present, we don't foresee any major issues in the availability of inputs as well as for finished fertilizer... the Indian fertilizer security remains strong and stable," she said. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)