Nearly 73% of the country’s fertiliser requirement was met through domestic production, according to an official statement on Friday.
Record Production vs. Structural Import Dependency
The domestic production of fertilisers — urea, diammonium phosphate (DAP), NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium), and single super phosphate (SSP) — rose to 52.46 million tonne (MT) in 2025 from 50.95 MT in 2024. The domestic fertiliser production was only 43.32 MT in 2021.
“The growth in domestic production has been driven by the establishment of new fertiliser plants, revival of previously closed units, promotion of indigenous manufacturing, and assured availability of raw materials,” according to the statement by the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers.
The government’s statement comes after the Fertiliser Association of India (FAI) last week stated that the total volume of imports of all varieties of soil nutrients rose 60% year-on-year to 17.37 MT during April-November of FY26.
The imports of urea and DAP have soared by 120% and 54% to 7.17 MT and 3.25 MT, respectively, in the first eight months of FY26 compared to the year-ago period, FAI had stated.
LNG, the key feedstock for urea production in the country, is largely imported.
India imports 20% of its urea requirement, while two-thirds of DAP consumption is met via imports. The country depends on imports of the muriate of potash (MoP).
Rising Subsidy Burden Amid Surging Demand
Overall imports of soil nutrients are projected to increase by over 41% to over 22.3 MT in FY26 due to a surge in domestic demand, according to industry estimates.
In FY25, the world’s second-largest consumer of fertilisers imported 16 MT of soil nutrients. In FY25, the government’s urea subsidy spending was Rs 1.91 lakh crore. In FY26, fertiliser subsidy is projected at around Rs 1.95 lakh crore against the Budget estimate of Rs 1.67 lakh crore.