‘Don’t create panic’: Centre says no fertiliser shortage for kharif
NEW DELHI: The Centre on Monday said that the country had adequate stocks of fertilisers ahead of the upcoming kharif or summer-sown season, after a review meeting held by agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar and fertilizer minister Mansukh Mandaviya, according to an official statement.
“The availability of fertilizers in the country is more than the expected demand. (There is) no need to create panic,” the statement quoted Mandaviya as saying. The ministers pointed to the last week’s cabinet approval for ₹60,939 crore subsidy for crop nutrients for the summer-sown season, which accounts for half of the country’s annual food output. The government also assured that there will not be any fertiliser shortage in the upcoming kharif sowing season.
According to a recent presentation made by fertiliser secretary RK Chaturvedi during the
government’s annual kharif conference, the total fertiliser requirement during 2022 kharif season was estimated at 35.43 million tonne and availability was pegged at 48.55 lakh tonne, including imported and domestically manufactured fertilizers.
Prices of fertilisers in the country have nearly doubled due to a global shortage and supply disruptions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, prompting the government to announce a mid-term hike in subsidy.
Russia accounts for nearly 13% of global fertilizer production and is a key supplier to India. Russia temporarily banned fertilizer exports in March, driving up the already high fertilizer prices.
According to a research note by S&P Global Commodity Insights, as of February-end, India had 8.12 million tonne of DAP fertilizers, 1.9 million tonne of MOP fertilizers and 7.7 million of NPKS group of fertilizers, which is lower than the demand for the kharif season.