15 fertiliser ships clear Hormuz safely: Govt

New Delhi, India's fertilizer supply chain has remained largely unaffected by the recent conflict in West Asia, with 15 of 20 vessels carrying fertilizers and raw materials for the country having safely crossed the Strait of Hormuz, the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers said on Sunday.Of these, eight vessels are transporting 3.32 lakh tonne of urea, four vessels are carrying 2.57 lakh tonne of DAP, and three vessels hold 1.11 lakh tonne of Sulphur ' all on schedule for Indian ports.Five more vessels are in the pipeline, including one each carrying 0.25 lakh tonne of Ammonia and 0.45 lakh tonne of urea.Loading is currently underway on two additional urea vessels and one Sulphur vessel, the Ministry said in a statement, adding that all shipments are expected to arrive as planned.While the conflict disrupted maritime traffic through the Strait, the Centre said it had ensured uninterrupted fertilizer availability through "timely planning, effective coordination and continuous monitoring."New supply sources were also tapped through diplomatic outreach.Urea supplies have been arranged from Oman, Malaysia, Vietnam, Georgia, Nigeria, Russia, Finland, Egypt, Algeria, Turkiye and the Netherlands.For DAP and NPK, India secured cargoes via the Red Sea route from Russia, Morocco, Egypt, the US, Jordan, South Korea, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers JP Nadda said the West Asia conflict had severely disrupted global supply chains, pushing up fertilizer prices and lengthening shipment transit times, with India not spared from the fallout.

However, he said the government had kept farmers' interests protected despite the global price surge, crediting the Department of Fertilizers for proactive measures under the Prime Minister's guidance.Natural gas supply to fertilizer plants ' which had dropped to nearly 65 per cent during the disruption ' has now been fully restored to 100 per cent, allowing all urea plants nationwide to operate at full capacity.Domestic urea production in Q1 FY27 (April-June) stood at 71.55 lakh tonne against a target of 67.86 lakh tonne ' a beat of 3.69 lakh tonne.

DAP output touched 9.84 lakh tonne versus a target of 8.61 lakh tonne, while NPK production came in at 20.77 lakh tonne and SSP at 13.50 lakh tonne.Against an annual requirement of 383.9 lakh tonnes, India has secured fertiliser stocks of 197.56 lakh tonne ' over 51 per cent of the yearly need.As on July 2, urea stocks stood at 69.08 lakh tonne, DAP at 16.64 lakh tonne, Muriate of Potash at 8.90 lakh tonne, NPK at 45.64 lakh tonne and SSP at 23.09 lakh tonne, taking total availability to 163.35 lakh tonne.The Ministry said the combination of diversified imports, higher domestic output and adequate stocking had ensured satisfactory fertiliser availability across the country, and reiterated the government's commitment to safeguarding farmers' interests through timely supply measures. ...