India, a large buyer of fertilizer on the international market, particularly urea, DAP, and potash, is seeking preferential treatment from global suppliers and said it will not tolerate cartelization, according to a report by the Press Trust of India, citing a speech by Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Mansukh Mandaviya at a Fertilisers Association of India conference.
The minister expressed concern over the rise in the government’s fertilizer subsidy bill from $10 billion in the 2019-2020 pre-pandemic year to the current $27 billion, and cited the sharp rally in global fertilizer prices, saying “But whatever has happened to fertilizer (prices) following COVID-19 pandemic and the war is not right.”
Mandaviya said he analyzed the rise during the last year and found that it was not market driven. “It is not proper for any sector when a country or a company decides the price,” he said. “It should always be determined by market.”
Mandaviya, who is also the health minister, said that India supplied medicines to more than 150 countries during the pandemic, but did not increase prices or compromise on quality.
While the high fertilizer prices may help global fertilizer suppliers in the near term, he said it would be counter productive long term as India would move toward alternative fertilizers such as nano urea and nano DAP. He also reiterated the country’s goal to be self sufficient in urea production by 2025.
Mandaviya encouraged international suppliers to set up long-term supply agreements with Indian companies and to consider building manufacturing plants and storage facilities in India.