India has imported 18.65 lakh tonne of urea and 22.58 lakh tonne phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilisers from China during 2023-24, Minister of State for Chemicals & Fertilisers Anupriya Patel said. She informed Parliament that the Government of India through the Department of Fertilisers imports urea (for agriculture purposes) on government account to bridge the gap between production and assessed demand.
As per official data, the country imported 70.42 lakh tonnes of urea in 2023-24 for USD 2.6 billion. Of this, India imported 18.65 lakh tonnes of urea from China valuing USD 730 million, she informed the Rajya Sabha. So far as P&K fertilisers are concerned, these grades of fertilisers are covered under Open General Licence (OGL) under the Nutrient Based Subsidy Scheme (NBS). They are imported by the companies on their commercially viable terms, she said in a written reply.
The value of imported P&K fertilisers is not maintained in the department, Patel said. India imported a total of 106.53 lakh tonnes of P&K fertilisers in 2023-24, of which 22.58 lakh tonnes came from China.
To ensure self-sufficiency in urea in the country, the Government of India mandated revival of Ramagundam (Telangana), Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh), Sindri (Jharkhand) and Talcher (Odisha) units of Fertilizer Corporation of India Ltd (FCIL) and Barauni (Bihar) unit of Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation Ltd (HFCL) through Joint Venture Company (JVC) of nominated PSUs for setting up new ammonia-urea plants of 12.7 LMTPA capacity each, she said.
The Ramagundam and Gorakhpur units were commissioned on March 22, 2021 and December 7, 2021, respectively. Also, Barauni and Sindri units started urea production on October 18, 2022 and November 5, 2022, respectively.
These plants have added 50.8 lakh tonne per annum of indigenous urea production in the country, Patel said, adding that the government has implemented Nutrient Based Subsidy Policy with effect from April 1, 2010 for P&K fertilisers.
Under the policy, a fixed amount of subsidy, decided on annual/bi-annual basis, is provided on notified P&K fertilisers depending on their nutrient content. The MRP is fixed by fertiliser companies as per market dynamics at reasonable level which is monitored by the government.
While fixing the subsidy rates under NBS, the government takes into consideration various factors, including affordability of farmers to purchase the notified P&K fertilizers, the minister added.
