Four fertiliser ships clear Strait of Hormuz; head to Indian ports

Four cargo vessels carrying urea, DAP and sulphur, which successfully navigated the Strait of Hormuz last week amid ongoing West Asia tensions, are now en route to destination ports in India, the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers said on Monday.

The ships are headed to Krishnapatnam, Kakinada, Paradeep and Mundra. Upon arrival, the cargo will be offloaded to supplement existing fertiliser buffers and meet ongoing agricultural requirements ahead of the Kharif season.

Domestic fertiliser production has reached 133.12 lakh tonne, while imports stand at 43.69 lakh tonne since the crisis began on March 1, the ministry said.

India has also contracted 17.70 lakh tonne of urea in its latest global tender, taking total secured supplies of urea and P&K fertilisers to over 90 lakh tonne for the Kharif season, the ministry said in a statement.

Urea supplies have been locked in from Oman, Malaysia, Vietnam, Georgia, Nigeria, Russia, Finland, Egypt, Algeria, Turkey and the Netherlands. DAP and NPK supplies are being routed via the Red Sea from Russia, Morocco, Egypt, the US, Jordan, South Korea, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.

The ministry said cumulative fertiliser stocks stood at 196.08 lakh tonne as of June 22, up from 168.67 lakh tonne a year ago. Urea inventory rose to 81.44 lakh tonne from 69.21 lakh tonne, DAP climbed to 20.92 lakh tonne from 16 lakh tonne, and NPKs improved to 55.91 lakh tonne against 46.13 lakh tonne in the year-ago period.

Muriate of Potash (MoP) inventory stood at 12.68 lakh tonne, up from 10.68 lakh tonne, while Single Super Phosphate (SSP) eased marginally to 25.13 lakh tonne from 26.65 lakh tonne.

Total fertiliser sales since March 1 reached 153.4 lakh tonne, ahead of 140.2 lakh tonne in the corresponding year-ago period. This comprised 79.1 lakh tonne of urea, 34.8 lakh tonne of NPKs and 19.8 lakh tonne of DAP.

The ministry said it continues to work closely with state governments, distribution agencies and cooperative networks to ensure fertiliser security remains "strong, stable and well managed".