Four vessels carrying nearly 0.18 million tonne (MT) of fertilisers and raw materials have crossed the Strait of Hormuz following its reopening, offering relief to India’s soil nutrients supply chain after months of disruption caused by the West Asia conflict.
Sources told FE that four ships carrying urea (91,750 tonne), di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) (55,000 tonne) and sulphur (33,251 tonne) out of 16 ships stranded since the outbreak of the conflict have transited through the strait in the last few days. The vessels are expected to reach Krishnapatnam, Kakinada, Paradeep and Mundra ports shortly.
Ships carrying urea from Qatar, sulphur from Kuwait and DAP from Saudi Arabia passed through the strait during June 18-20, which is expected to ease pressure on the country’s fertiliser supply chain, sources said.
The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers said the vessels are currently heading towards their destination ports and will immediately offload upon arrival to supplement existing inventories and support agricultural demand.
According to tanker-tracking firm Kpler, more than 40 fertiliser vessels carrying around one million tonnes of cargo were stranded behind the Strait of Hormuz following the conflict’s outbreak. The disruption sharply impacted trade flows, with weekly fertiliser exports through Hormuz falling nearly 90% from around 600,000 tonnes in late February to about 60,000 tonnes in early June.
“Fertilisers, LNG, LPG and crude oil cargoes are likely to get priority movement as Hormuz reopens after the deal. These are strategic commodities with direct implications for food security, energy security and inflation management. The first phase of normalisation will focus on clearing stranded essential cargoes before regular commercial shipping schedules are fully restored,” said an anayst.
Sources said that the arrival of fertiliser shipments was disrupted due to the crisis in West Asia, where urea shipments of 0.33 MT and ships carrying 0.22-0.25 MT of DAP were stranded at the strait, impacting supplies of soil nutrients to states.
Officials said that while the government does not foresee any fertiliser shortage in the ongoing kharif season, inventories remain comfortable due to diversification of imports and higher domestic production.
According to the ministry, cumulative fertiliser stocks stood at 196.08 lakh tonnes (LT) as of June 22, 2026, compared with 168.67 LT during the corresponding period last year. Stocks include 81.44 LT of urea, 20.92 LT of DAP, 55.91 LT of NPKs, 12.68 LT of MOP and 25.13 LT of SSP.
The ministry said fertiliser sales between March 1 and June 21 reached 153.4 LT, compared with 140.2 LT during the corresponding period last year. Sales included 79.1 LT of urea, 34.8 LT of NPKs and 19.8 LT of DAP and TSP.
To offset the impact of the disruption, domestic fertiliser production reached 133.12 LT, while import arrivals stood at 43.69 LT during the period.
The official said that by the end of June, 2.5 MT of urea, DAP and NPKs are expected to reach Indian ports, boosting availability further.
The ministry said India has also successfully contracted 17.70 LT of urea under its latest global tender evaluation. With this addition, the country has tied up more than 90 LT of urea and phosphatic and potassic fertilisers from the global market for the ongoing kharif season.
As part of diversification efforts, urea supplies have been secured from Oman, Malaysia, Vietnam, Georgia, Nigeria, Russia, Finland, Egypt, Algeria, Turkey and the Netherlands, while DAP and NPK imports have been sourced from Russia, Morocco, Egypt, the US, Jordan, South Korea, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.
The ministry said the sourcing strategy was supported through coordination with 28 Indian Missions abroad to create alternative import channels and maintain fertiliser availability despite disruptions in the Gulf region.
“The Department of Fertilizers continues to work closely with state governments, distribution agencies and cooperative networks to ensure India’s fertiliser security remains strong, stable and well managed,” the ministry said.
Meanwhile, the government is likely to reassess fertiliser subsidy requirements for the current fiscal year after a sharp decline in global urea prices. National Fertilizers recently received bids with a landed cost of $444.9-$449.3 per tonne for importing 1.7 MT of urea, significantly lower than the $935-$959 per tonne discovered in an earlier tender floated by Indian Potash for the import of 2.5 MT of urea.
