India Fertilizer: India boosts fertiliser imports from Canada, Israel as Russian provide disrupted

India is a number one importer of fertilisers for its large agriculture sector, which employs about 60% of the nation’s workforce and accounts for 15% of the $2.7 trillion economic system.

“This time we have now made advance preparations for kharif (summer time sown crop) season. We’d like about 30 million tonnes of fertilisers and preparations are in place,” fertiliser minister Mansukh Mandaviya stated, with out elaborating.

He stated India could have a cushty opening inventory, a couple of quarter of the general quantity of fertilisers wanted for the summer time season.

Indian farmers often begin planting crops together with rice, cotton and soybean with the arrival of monsoon rains in June.

To fertilise the crops, India is dependent upon imports for its total annual consumption of 4 million to five million tonnes of potash and ships in a 3rd of this from Belarus and Russia.

Landlocked Belarus makes use of ports in Russia and Lithuania for its exports.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, transport routes have been closed off and western sanctions on Moscow, which has described its actions in Ukraine as a “particular navy operation”, have made it troublesome to commerce with Russian and Belarusian firms.

Indian Potash Ltd (IPL) has elevated imports from Canada, Israel and Jordan.

It’s going to purchase 1.2 million tonnes of Potash from Canada, 600,000 tonnes from Israel and 300,000 from Jordan in 2022 to partially substitute provide from Russia and Belarus, quite a few sources stated.

A senior trade official who declined to be named stated IPL was making an attempt to make sure that “a considerable quantity of shipments” arrive earlier than June to forestall any scarcity in the course of the sowing season.

India was near signing a three-year fertiliser import cope with Russia throughout Mandaviya’s go to to Moscow deliberate for this month. The go to was postponed following the Ukraine invasion, which started on Feb. 24.

One of many sources stated India might attempt once more to signal the deal “when the scenario improves”.

Historically India has used costs struck in offers with Belarus and Russia because the benchmark for provides from different international locations. For 2022, Canada has emerged as a value setter, the sources stated.

IPL is shopping for potash from firms in Canada and Israel at $590 per tonne on a delivered foundation with six months credit score in 2022. IPL declined to remark.

India additionally depends on Russia and Belarus for complicated fertilisers that present a couple of crop nutrient.

To assist make up for any misplaced provides of nitrogen, phosphate and potash, Indian firms are additionally rising provides from Saudi Arabia and Morocco, the sources stated.