Farmers in India may have to pay 5 to 26 percent more for the fertilizers this harvest season, owing to rise in the international prices of key fertilizer components potash and phosphate, said the analysts and industry executives. They said, if the government increases the per unit subsidy for fertilizer companies, the price impact on planters will be less. Meanwhile, prices of urea remained steady due to government controls.
As per details provided by the analysts; at Rs 1,400 per bag (50 kg), the price of di-ammonium phosphate is 8 percent higher than what farmers paid this kharif season. It can go up by 4 percent by next month and the price of muriate of potash (MoP) can increase by 26 percent to Rs 880/ bag (50 kg). On the other hand, nitrogen, phosphorous and potash grades may increase by 5-10 percent to about Rs 960-1,180/bag (50 kg).
Joint managing director of the Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Ltd (Iffco), Rakesh Kapur said "The rupee depreciation has ensured that the landed cost of raw material has increased. And now companies will have to see how they take in the rise, which can be from 5 to 15 percent depending on the fertilizer”. He said the industry had plenty stock of fertilizer for the forthcoming Rabi season.
The calculated requirement of urea is 162.74 lakh tonnes, 50.46 lakh tonnes for DAP, 17.28 lakh tonnes for MOP, 52.19 lakh tonnes for NPK, 29.80 lakh for SSP.