New Delhi, March 20 The government said on Friday that adequate supplies of urea and DAP fertilizer have been ensured for farmers across the country, with imports of the two key nutrients surging 63 percent during April-January of the current fiscal year.
This development is significant because the war in West Asia, which broke out on February 28, has raised concerns about global fertilizer supply chains.
However, the bulk of the import surge predates the conflict.
According to Fertilizer Ministry data, the total imports of urea and Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) rose to 14.94 million tonnes in April-January of 2025-26 from 9.17 million tonnes in the year-ago period.
Imports of urea rose 83.3 percent to 8.93 million tonnes during the period, compared to 4.87 million tonnes a year earlier.
Imports of DAP surged to 9.03 million tonnes from 4.30 million tonnes in the corresponding period.
Urea and DAP are the two most widely used fertilizers in India.
However, domestic production of urea and DAP remained marginally lower at 28.49 million tonnes during April-January of 2025-26, compared to 29.27 million tonnes in the year-ago period.
The total sales of urea and DAP rose marginally to 44.39 million tonnes from 43.61 million tonnes in the said period.
The sales of Nano Urea and Nano DAP during April-January 2025-26 stood at 18.25 million bottles and 14.93 million bottles (equivalent to 500 ml), respectively.
Urea is a highly subsidized fertilizer, with its maximum retail price kept unchanged at ₹242 per 45 kg bag (excluding neem coating charges and applicable taxes) since 2018.
"There is no proposal to increase the price of urea," said Minister of State for Fertilizers Anupriya Patel in her written reply to Parliament this week.
The government said that the gap between demand and indigenous production of fertilizers is met through imports well in advance to ensure adequate and timely availability across the country.