While urea and phosphatic fertilizer supplies are adequate to meet the Kharif season demand, a prolonged West Asia conflict lasting beyond one month would hit output and supplies, industry sources said.

Stating that the country is currently entering the ‘agricultural lean’ season, the Fertiliser Association of India (FAI) said that consumption typically remains moderate now, allowing the industry to replenish inventories and undertake routine maintenance operations at production facilities.

“For the next one month, there is no cause for concern. If the conflict prolongs, it would be a serious issue in terms of Fertiliser supplies,” an official with a major manufacturing unit told FE.

The FAI has acknowledged that the current disruption has impacted supplies of gas, a feedstock, and it is working closely with the Government to prioritize gas allocation for urea production.

What did Industry reps say?

Industry sources said several fertiliser units undergo annual maintenance and it is optimizing gas allocation to ensure sufficient supply of urea for the ensuing season.

The government on Tuesday invoked the essential commodities act for the first time for ensuring supply of natural gas, a key raw material, to the fertilizer plants.

The order stated that the government shall ensure supply of natural gas to the fertilizer plants on 70% of their past six-month average gas consumption, subject to operational availability. It has specified that the allocated gas must be only used for fertilizer production thus not can’t be diverted for non-agricultural use.

50% LNG used in domestic urea is imported from Qatar

Currently, 50% of LNG used in domestic urea manufacturing is imported from Qatar, under a long-term agreement. About 80% of urea production in the country uses LNG while the rest uses domestic gas. At present, 30 out of 32 urea units use natural gas as feedstock.

Industry sources indicated that imports of DAP and its key inputs — rock phosphate and phosphoric acid — could also be affected if the conflict continues, as India sources significant volumes of soil nutrients from Saudi Arabia and North African countries.

“The current geopolitical disturbances can impact prices of key raw materials like sulphur and ammonia used for diammonium phosphate (DAP),” according to FAI. The fertilizer ministry has stated that currently there is 17.73 million tonne (MT) of fertilisers – urea, DAP and other soil nutrients in stock which is 36.5% higher than a year ago.

During April-January 2025-26, the production and imports of major soil nutrients – urea, DAP, complex fertiliser and MOP, has increased to 65 million tonne (MT), an increase of over 12% over the same period in FY25, the FAI has stated.

Urea imports surged 83% to close to over 8.9 MT in the period while inward shipments of DAP rose close to 40% at 6 MT in April-January, FY26 on year. The annual consumption of fertilizers in the country is around 64-65 MT, out of which urea accounts for 40 MT while DAP consumption is around 11 MT. Rest of the consumption is potash (2-3 MT) and complex fertilizers (10 – 11 MT).