{"id":61483,"date":"2025-09-01T11:43:41","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T06:13:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=61483"},"modified":"2025-09-01T11:43:41","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T06:13:41","slug":"indias-fertiliser-shortage-2025-causes-supply-issues-and-policy-lessons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/indias-fertiliser-shortage-2025-causes-supply-issues-and-policy-lessons\/","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s Fertiliser Shortage 2025: Causes, Supply Issues and Policy Lessons"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>India\u2019s Fertiliser Shortage 2025 Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India witnessed an excellent southwest monsoon this year, with June\u2013August rainfall 6.1% above the historical average and well-distributed across regions.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rainfall exceeded norms in June (8.9%), July (4.8%), and August (5.5%), while May also recorded 106.4% above-normal rain.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Out of 36 meteorological subdivisions, 33 received normal rainfall, with deficiencies seen only in Bihar, Assam, Meghalaya, and Arunachal Pradesh.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The timely and evenly spread rains have spurred higher kharif sowing: rice acreage rose 7.6% to 420.4 lakh hectares, while maize cultivation jumped 11.7% to 93.3 lakh hectares.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This, in turn, has boosted fertiliser sales as higher crop acreages drove demand for essential fertilizers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Fertiliser Sales Surge with Good Monsoon<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Between April\u2013July 2025 and the same period in 2024, most fertilisers \u2014 including urea, single super phosphate (SSP), muriate of potash (MOP), and complex blends \u2014 recorded double-digit growth in sales.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Dip in DAP Sales, Rise of Alternatives<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The only exception was diammonium phosphate (DAP), whose sales fell by 12.8%.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This decline continues a trend from recent years, driven by supply shortages.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Farmers have increasingly substituted DAP with other phosphorus-rich fertilisers such as SSP and the complex 20:20:0:13.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>20:20:0:13 Emerges as a Major Player<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With 20% phosphorus content \u2014 less than DAP\u2019s 46% but more than SSP\u2019s 16% \u2014 20:20:0:13 has emerged as a popular choice.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ratio 20:20:0:13 is commonly used to represent the composition of a specific type of fertilizer, known as Ammonium Phosphate Sulphate (APS).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>APS <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">provides\u00a020% Nitrogen (N), 20% Phosphorus pentoxide (P\u2082O\u2085), and 13% Sulphur (S), with no potassium (K).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Its sales reached a record 69.7 lakh tonnes in 2024\u201325, making it India\u2019s third-largest selling fertiliser after urea (387.7 lt) and DAP (92.8 lt).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Rising Demand vs. Limited Supply<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite a surge in fertiliser demand during the good monsoon, supply has not kept pace.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Domestic urea production<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in April\u2013July 2025 <\/span><b>fell <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to 93.6 lt from 102.1 lt the previous year, while DAP output remained flat at 13.7 lt.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Production rose modestly for NPKS complexes (35 lt to 37.4 lt) and SSP (17.1 lt to 19.1 lt), but <\/span><b>imports of urea and DAP also declined<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, worsening the gap.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Sharp Stock Depletion<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Government data show steep declines in fertiliser stocks as of August 1, 2025.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Urea stocks dropped to 37.2 lt from 86.4 lt a year earlier.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DAP (13.9 lt vs 15.8 lt), complexes (35 lt vs 47 lt), and MOP (6.3 lt vs 8 lt) also saw lower inventories.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Only SSP stocks saw a marginal rise to 20.7 lt.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Peak Season Shortages<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The supply crunch hit hardest during July\u2013August, peak consumption months for kharif crops.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Farmers need phosphatic fertilisers like DAP at sowing for root growth, while urea is applied in split doses later.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reports of farmers queuing for hours to secure urea bags highlighted the shortages.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Industry experts noted that fear-driven pre-stocking worsened the situation, amplifying the actual shortage during the critical sowing season.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Policy Lessons for Fertiliser Management<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The government appears to have underestimated fertiliser demand this kharif, particularly for rice and maize, which are nitrogen-intensive crops requiring multiple urea applications.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In contrast, soyabean and pulses, which need little urea, saw reduced acreage this season.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With kharif consumption peaking, the focus now shifts to ensuring adequate fertiliser supplies for the rabi season, supported by strong water availability in reservoirs and aquifers.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Falling imports of urea and DAP since 2023\u201324, <\/span><b>largely due to Chinese supply curbs<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, may ease with the recent thaw in India\u2013China ties.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Experts suggest moderating usage by substituting some urea with ammonium sulphate and restricting DAP primarily to rice and wheat, while promoting complexes for other crops to ensure sustainability.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-economics\/the-scramble-for-fertilisers-10222977\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IE<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> | <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/small-biz\/trade\/exports\/insights\/feed-the-world-without-fertiliser-why-crop-nutrients-are-suddenly-political\/articleshow\/98078178.cms?from=mdr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ET<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India faces a fertiliser shortage in 2025 despite good monsoon and rising demand. Explore causes, supply gaps, and policy lessons for sustainable agriculture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":61514,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[2431,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-61483","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-indias-fertiliser-shortage-2025","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61483"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61483\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}