Urea Shortage: The direct impact of the ongoing war between America, Israel and Iran is now reaching the fields of India. After the crisis over the supply of fertilizer deepened, the Government of India has come into active mode and has prepared a master plan to maintain the availability of urea. According to the information, the Government of India has even floated a global tender to purchase 25 lakh metric tons of urea.

Let us tell you, India is the world’s largest urea importer. About 50 per cent of India’s urea and DAP-diammonium phosphate imports come from the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia the largest DAP supplier and Oman the largest urea supplier. This supply chain has been directly affected due to the Iran war.

Urea and DAP- backbone of farming

Urea is the fertilizer that provides nitrogen to the crop, that is, the power for the plant to grow rapidly. Immediately after sowing, farmers put it in the field so that the roots become strong and the yield is good. Urea is the first requirement in almost every crop like paddy, wheat, maize, sugarcane. At the same time, DAP i.e. diammonium phosphate contains phosphorus along with nitrogen which helps the seeds to germinate and the roots to develop. That is why DAP is mixed in the soil before sowing. Urea and DAP together are the backbone of Indian farming.

Big tender issued by the government

Government company Indian Potash Limited – IPL issued the tender on Saturday. There is a plan to import 15 lakh tonnes of urea from the west coast and 10 lakh tonnes from the east coast. Bids are to be submitted by April 15 and shipment should be dispatched by June 14. This tender is also important because with the onset of monsoon in June, sowing of paddy, maize and soybean starts and at that time the demand for urea increases suddenly.

India currently has enough stock

Aparna Sharma, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, told in the media briefing that India currently has sufficient stock. About 39 million metric tons of fertilizer will be required for the summer crop season and currently the stock is around 18 million tons which was 14.7 million tons last year. According to the ministry, Indian companies have signed long-term deals with countries like Russia, Morocco, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Jordan, Canada, Algeria, Egypt and Togo. The supply of 28 lakh tonnes from Russia will come through the Cape of Good Hope route. In February also, a global tender was floated for 13 lakh tonnes of urea.

domestic production also less

Another matter of concern is that the monthly production of urea in India is currently 18 lakh tonnes whereas normally it is 24 lakh tonnes. Some plants are just restarting after annual maintenance. Apart from this, India fulfills about 50% of its LNG requirement from the Middle East and LNG is an important raw material for making urea.

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