Recently
while announcing the nutrient-based subsidy for the Kharif 2024 season, the
government raised the subsidy for phosphorus, the key nutrient of DAP, to
₹28.72/kg from ₹20.82/kg, with no raise in the financial assistance for other nutrients as they were in Rabi 2023-24 season.
According
to the latest official data, overall consumption of urea until February 29 in
the current fiscal increased by 0.3 per cent to 34.12 mt from 34.12 mt a year
ago, whereas sales of all fertilisers put together increased a modest 2.8 per
cent to 57.57 mt from 56 mt, mainly due to higher sales of complex and
di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) fertilisers.
Import of overall fertilisers also
dropped 10.2
per cent to 16.05 mt from 17.87 mt year-ago, in which complex import declined
18 per cent at nearly 2 mt from 2.44 mt and DAP by 20.1 per cent to 5.31 mt
from 6.65 mt. But, MOP import surged 48.6 per cent to 2.07 mt from 1.39 mt.
Production
of all fertilisers was up by 4.5 per cent to 46.56 mt from 44.57 mt, which
included urea at 28.91 mt (against 25.98 mt year-ago), DAP 4.07 mt (4.02 mt),
Complex 8.86 mt (8.71 mt), SSP 4.13 mt (5.19 mt) and Ammonium Sulphate 0.58 mt
(0.67 mt).
The
government has raised the Budgetary allocation for all the fertiliser subsidy
from of ₹1.75-lakh crore in BE to ₹1.89-lakh crore in RE of FY24.