The fertiliser ministry announced on Thursday that monthly domestic urea production has rebounded to last year's levels, reaching 21 lakh tonnes in April. This matches the production recorded in April of the previous year, indicating a recovery from recent disruptions.
Recovery from March Decline
In March, domestic urea output had fallen to approximately 16 lakh tonnes due to the West Asia conflict disrupting LNG supplies. However, up to 97% of natural gas supply has now been restored, enabling production to bounce back. In April last year, domestic urea production was close to 22 lakh tonnes.
Sufficient Stocks for Kharif Season
Aparna Sharma, Additional Secretary in the fertiliser ministry, stated that increased domestic production, robust opening stock, and assured imports of soil nutrients will be adequate to meet the requirement for kharif crops. Since the beginning of the conflict, 78 lakh tonnes of fertilisers—including urea, Diammonium Phosphate (DAP), Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K) or NPKs, and Single Super Phosphate (SSP)—have been added to the stock through domestic production and imports.
Sharma emphasised, “Fertiliser availability remains robust, and supplies continue to exceed the requirement.” As of Thursday, the overall stock stood at 193.8 lakh tonnes, which is 50% of the estimated demand of 320 lakh tonnes for the entire kharif season.
Retail Prices Unchanged
The government has maintained that despite the spike in global prices of key fertilisers, retail prices have been kept unchanged to ensure farmers are not impacted. This measure aims to support agricultural productivity during the critical sowing period.
