The government steps up the construction of fertilizer buffer zones and shifts to “spot purchases”

NEW DELHI: Even as there are adequate stocks of fertilizers to cope with the upcoming summer season, the government has stepped up efforts to create a buffer for winter crops and is trying unconventional methods like ‘spot buying’, which can be adopted to meet immediate operational needs in case of unexpected supply disruptions. In addition to conducting maintenance on fertilizer production units in advance, it also conducts heat mapping exercises of all areas so that any signs of problems can be detected early and responded to quickly. Dismissing speculation that conflicts in West Asia are causing soil nutrient shortages, officials said all partners in India’s fertilizer supply chain have assured the government of “uninterrupted supply” and that stocks will be sufficient by mid-May when kharif demand peaks. To cope with the challenge of reduced LNG allocation for urea production at fertilizer plants, the fertilizer unit will competitively procure “spot gas” from the international market, with the first phase of procurement to take place on Tuesday. Officials said while earlier the government would purchase spot gas a month in advance, this time it will be purchased in the same month. I&B Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that as of Friday, urea stocks stood at 6.2 million tonnes (MT), 1 MT higher than the same period last year, while DAP supply stood at 2.5 MT, almost double last year. NPK inventory is 5.6 tons, a record high, an increase of 2.5 tons from last year. Officials stated that the normal domestic production of urea is 2.5 tons per month. Production is expected to be approximately 1.7 tonnes this month due to a 30% reduction in LNG supply allocation and the advancement of annual plant maintenance to optimize natural gas usage and production. Taking into account the geopolitical uncertainty, the government advanced the global urea tender and placed an order for 1.4 tonnes in mid-February, Vaishnaw said. By the end of March, 90% of this order is expected to arrive in India. In terms of international supply, he said that a five-year 3MT DAP contract was signed with Saudi Arabia and there was no force majeure. Russian supplies of urea, diammonium phosphate and nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium via the Cape of Good Hope remain uninterrupted. Morocco continues to supply via the Cape of Good Hope. “As of now, we have not received any indication of major production disruption at overseas plants associated with our joint ventures,” KJ Patel, managing director of IFFCO, the country’s largest fertilizer cooperative, said in response to a query from TOI. He added that currently, a few of their units are undergoing planned maintenance activities.