To curb the sale of fake fertilisers as well as prevent black marketing of subsidised fertilisers, agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has urged states to strictly monitor supplies and take action against overpricing and diversion of such highly subsidised soil-nutrients.
According to Chouhan, it is the state’s responsibility to ensure that there is adequate availability of fertilisers at the right place and location. In a communication, he stated that states need to regularly monitor the production and sale of fertilisers. There is also a need to impose strict controls to prevent the entry of counterfeit and substandard products. This needs to be done through sampling and testing.
Chouhan also urged states to stop the forced tagging of nano-fertilizers or bio-stimulant products along with conventional fertilisers.
Sources said that there are reports of companies tagging nano products such as nano urea and nano-DAP (Diammonium phosphate) with conventional highly subsidised fertilisers to boost sales.
Chouhan has noted that the sale of counterfeit or substandard fertilisers is prohibited under the Fertiliser (control) order, 1985, which falls under the purview of Essential Commodities Act, 1955.
The agriculture minister’s communication to states comes at a time when there are several reports of inadequate availability as well as black marketing of fertilisers especially DAP, which is largely used in horticultural crops as well as wheat.
The annual domestic production of DAP is around 4.5 – 4.8 million tonne (MT) against the demand of 10 to 11 MT.
The government has stated that, since the beginning of the year, DAP imports were impacted due to the Red Sea crisis. This is because ships were rerouted and it had to travel an additional 6500 km through the cape of Good Hope, South Africa. Owing to this, consignments took an added 14 – 45 days to reach the Kandla port.
The government has entered into long-term agreements with Morocco and Saudi Arabia for the import of about 2 MT annually from each country. China, a manufacturer of DAP, has restricted its fertiliser exports, thus leading to supply constraints in India.
The global price of DAP, the second most consumed fertiliser after urea, has risen by over 24% since April, to $729/tonne at present.
For the current kharif season, the government has increased the subsidy on DAP under the nutrient based subsidy (NBS) regime to Rs 27,799/ tonne.
At the same time the maximum retail price (MRP) of DAP has remained unchanged for the last couple of years at Rs 27,000/tonne or Rs 1,350 per 50 kg bag.
Usually, the government announces subsidies under the NBS mechanism twice a year. Subsidies are typically announced before the commencement of kharif season and the sowing of rabi crops.
However the government has been making special financial provisions for additional subsidies in case of a spike in global prices.
Due to a rise in global fertiliser prices, fertiliser subsidy in FY25 was revised to Rs 1.91 lakh crore from the budget estimates of Rs 1.68 lakh crore. As per the budget estimates of 2025-26 , Rs 1.67 lakh crore has been allocated for fertiliser subsidy.