Sufficient urea supply to meet demand this kharif season: Govt

 

NEW DELHI:  There is sufficient supply of urea to meet an estimated demand of 147.5 lakh tonnes in the ongoing kharif season, government informed Parliament today.

Urea price is controlled by the government and its MRP currently stands at Rs 5,300/tonne.

Sowing of kharif (summer) crops begins with the onset of southwest monsoon from June. Farmers had sown kharif crops, like paddy in 799.51 lakh hectare till last week.

On a question whether there was enough supply of urea for this kharif season, Minister of State for Fertilisers Mansukh L Mandaviya said “yes madam” in a written reply.

He added that urea demand for kharif season is estimated to be 147.4 lakh tonnes. Domestic output would be 118.7 lakh tonnes while imports are estimated at 32.5 lakh tonnes.

The government has planned 170.4 lakh tonnes of urea supply to meet the kharif demand, he added.

Urea demand this kharif season is maximum in Uttar Pradesh at 26 lakh tonnes followed by Maharasthra (15.50 lakh tonnes), Punjab (12.50 lakh tonnes) and Gujarat (10 lakh tonnes), as per the data placed before the Lower House. (AGENCIES)