According to a company executive, India’s largest manufacturer of fertilisers, IFFCO Ltd, has decided to reduce the price of a widely used mixture of crop nutrients by nearly 14%. This move will help reduce farming costs and subsidies in a year of global food crisis that is partially driven by higher costs of agricultural chemicals.
The IFFCO representative stated that the company was passing on the benefits of decreased costs due to increased output efficiency, savings from newer technologies such as nanofertilizers, and an increase in local production capacity.
The nation’s food security is directly tied to the availability of a variety of fertilisers. The government subsidises crop nutrients for millions of farmers, reimbursing producers for more than 80 percent of the market price for the majority of varieties in one of the world’s leading consumers and importers.
IFFCO, a cooperative, will reduce the price of NPKS, also known as complex fertiliser, by 200 to 1200 per bag, the official said, demanding anonymity because he is not permitted to talk on financial concerns.
In 2023-24, the Centre’s fertiliser subsidy is anticipated to be 1,75 lakh crore, a 22.2% decrease from the revised estimates for 2022-23. Food and fertiliser subsidies account for ten percent of the government’s total expenditures.
In the next five years, India hopes to reach self-sufficiency in the production of some fertilisers, such as urea, as a result of the opening or planned opening of multiple new factories. In conjunction with the external affairs ministry, the fertiliser ministry led by Mansukh Mandaviya has overseen a wave of long-term bilateral transactions at stable pricing to limit price fluctuations in imported raw materials.
Indian corporations have for the first time finalised deals in numerous mineral-rich North African nations, as part of attempts to hedge against fertiliser price spirals and market instability.
Nano urea, a highly efficient form of the chemical and IFFCO’s patented product, is proving to be a game changer in terms of cost savings, according to the aforementioned CEO.
This demonstrates competitive pricing. Comtrade’s Abhishek Agrawal noted that growers of non-cereal crops, such as lentils and mustard, will benefit most from the reduction in complicated fertiliser pricing.
