NEW DELHI: Govt-authorized fertiliser importing agency India Potash Ltd (IPL) is set to import 25 lakh tonnes of urea in the $935-$959 per tonne range — almost double the rate two months ago — in what is being seen as an impact of the ongoing West Asia crisis on the prices of the key soil nutrient.The fertilizer is likely to be sourced from Russia, Algeria, Nigeria, Egypt, Indonesia and Malaysia, and bidders have also agreed to avoid the conflict-hit Strait of Hormuz for smooth transit of urea. TOI has learned that the government has approved the prices at which the urea will be imported before the kharif sowing season peaks by mid-June.In the previous urea tender issued by Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers, bids were in the range of $508-$512 per tonne.Meanwhile, amid the ongoing supply disruption and surge in global prices of both urea and DAP, the government is looking at rolling out measures to curb excessive use of the soil nutrients. This includes launching a mobile app which farmers can use to place total requirements in advance.They can get fertiliser bags by completing biometric authentication on the app and it will also alert them not to pick more when the purchase is close to the set limit.Govt has held rounds of meeting on working out a roadmap to promote rational use of fertilisers, including distribution of chemical soil nutrients linked to farmers database and judicious use and awareness for balanced and scientific use of fertilisers. Govt has maintained there is adequate fertilizer stock for the Kharif season, which is higher than that of last year, and it expects to have “comfortable stocks” before the peak Kharif demand in June.The move to promote rational use of fertilizers is significant considering that the increasing raw materials for chemical soil nutrient and finished products is estimated to push subsidies beyond Rs 2 lakh crore, nearly 20% more than what government had estimated for FY 2026-27.Annually, India imports about 35-40% of all its fertilisers, and Gulf countries account for 40% of these imports. The supplies and LNG supplies used as major feedstock for urea manufacturing have been severely impacted by the closure of Strait of Hormuz.
