The sale of fertilisers has increased by 83 % to 111.61 lakh tonnes between April to June. The increase is surprising especially as the nation was in complete lockdown for much of the accounted period.
A statement from the government said, “During April-June 2020, the POS (point of sale) sale of fertilisers to farmers was 111.61 lakh tonnes which is 82.81% higher than the last year's sale of 61.05 lakh tonnes during the same period".
The sale of urea also increased by 67% to 64.82 lakh tonnes during the aforementioned period while the demand for Diammonium Phosphate(DAP) has also increased by 22.46 lakh tonnes an increase of almost 100%.
The demand for complex fertilisers has also seen a two-fold increase with sales equal to 24.32 lakh tonnes.
One of the reasons for the demand has been that the lockdown coincided with the onset of that Kharif Season in India with the added fears of locust attacks and the reverse migration of workers, food security became paramount for the farmers after which they began procuring fertilisers in large quantities. Some services were opened through a Home Ministry order by the end of April and, when the economy partially opened in May the farmers were also getting ready to sow their Kharif Crops and, the government made sure that supplies of fertilisers were not affected,
The statement said, "Despite a lot of movement restrictions due to national level COVID-19 lockdown, with the concerted efforts of the Department of Fertilizers, Railways, state governments, and ports, production and supply of fertilisers in the country is going on without hindrance", the statement said.
Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers D V Sadananda Gowda has also assured the farmers that the government is keeping a close eye on the tock fo fertilisers and will make sure that there is no shortage of supply. He also praised the state government for their role in keeping the apply chain intact.
