There won’t be any hike in Urea prices

The Lok Sabha was informed that there was no proposal to hike the prices of the urea and the government will continue to provide subsidy to farmers for the soil nutrient despite there was a shortage of gas required by the fertiliser plants. There is a need of 46 mmbtu of gas for fertilizer plants of which only 31 mmbtu is available in the country. The remaining is purchased at a cost of USD 4.2 per mmbtu.

The Union Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister Ananth Kumar on Wednesday said that while the demand for urea is 31 million tonnes, the country produces only 22 million tonnes. The rest is imported. He said there will be no shortage of urea at subsidised rates for the farmers. Responding to supplementary, he said there is no proposal to hike urea prices and subsidy will continue to be provided for the nutrient to the farmers. He said the government is in the process of acquiring assets in various countries, including Russia and Canada, through joint ventures so that near self reliance can be achieved. Referring to the shortage of the gas needed by the fertiliser plants, he said that the gas is imported at a high cost.

In addition to this, referring to various steps undertaken by the government to ensure adequate supply of subsidised chemical fertilizers to farmers, he said month-wise demand is assessed and projected by the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation in consultation with the state governments before commencement of each cropping season. Based on the projects, the Department of Fertilisers allocates sufficient quantity of fertilizer to states by issuing a monthly supply plan and continuously monitors the availability.