NEW DELHI, Mar 11 : India has imported 44.19 lakh tonnes of Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP), a key fertiliser, till February of this fiscal, the government data showed.
The country had imported 55.67 lakh tonnes in the entire 2023-24 fiscal.
In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Anupriya Patel noted that the domestic production of urea and P&K (phosphatic & potassic) fertilisers has increased in India in the last 10 years.
She said urea production has increased from 225 lakh tonnes per annum during 2014-15 to 314.07 lakh tonnes in the last financial year.
“In case of Phosphatic & Potassic fertilizers (P&K), the companies are free to import /produce fertilizer raw materials, intermediaries and finished fertilizers as per their business dynamics,” Patel said.
Based on the requests, the new manufacturing units or increase in manufacturing capacity of existing units have been recognised/taken on record under the NBS subsidy scheme, with a view to boost manufacturing and make the country self-reliant in fertilizer production.
She said the production of P&K fertilizers has increased from 159.54 lakh tonnes in 2014-15 to 182.85 lakh tonnes in 2023-24.
As per the government data, India imported 55.67 lakh tonnes of DAP in 2023-24, of which 22.28 lakh tonnes (40.02 per cent) came from China.
Till February of 2024-25 fiscal, the country has imported 44.19 lakh tonnes of DAP, of which 8.47 lakh tonnes (19.1 per cent) were from China.
Import of DAP stood at 48.7 lakh tonnes in 2019-20; 48.82 lakh tonnes in 2020-21; 54.62 lakh tonnes in 2021-22 and 65.83 lakh tonnes in 2022-23. (PTI)
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