Amid reports of possible disruption to fertiliser production because of the West Asia crisis, the country’s largest producer of soil nutrients IFFCO has said that a number of its manufacturing plants are undergoing planned maintenance and the remaining units continue to operate normally.
“At present, fertiliser production, including urea, continues to operate normally across plants, and there has been no disruption in production schedules attributable to LNG availability,” K J Patel, managing director, IFFCO, told FE.
Routine maintenance planned during lean demand period
Patel said “as part of our routine operational practices, certain units are periodically taken up for scheduled maintenance to ensure optimal efficiency and safety.” Such annual maintenance is taken up during the “lean” period of demand for fertilisers, he added. Patel has said that at this stage, there is no immediate concern regarding fertiliser production or availability, and operations across units are proceeding as per the planned schedule.
Sources said continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key import route from the Gulf countries, has caused concerns about LNG supply. The Fertiliser Association of India (FAI) recently stated that the current disruption has impacted LNG supplies, a feedstock, and it is working closely with the government to prioritise gas allocation for urea production.
Last week the government invoked the Essential Commodities Act for the first time to ensure the supply of natural gas, a key raw material, to fertiliser plants. In FY25, IFFCO produced 9.31 million tonne (MT) of fertilisers out of 64 MT consumed in the country. Last fiscal, IFFCO produced 4.21 MT of urea out of the total output of 30.66 MT in the country.
Urea output stays steady as gas-based production dominates
During April-January FY26, IFFCO produced 4.12 MT of urea, marginally higher than output during the same period last year. 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.
The annual consumption of fertilisers in the country is around 64-65 MT, of which urea accounts for 40 MT while DAP consumption is around 11 MT. The rest of the consumption is potash (2-3 MT) and complex fertilisers (10 – 11 MT).