Estimates for Fertilizer Requirements for the Kharif Season Revised Downward

02-Jun-2026 01:43 PM

New Delhi. The Central Government had initially estimated the total demand for key chemical fertilizers—such as Urea and DAP—during the 2026 Kharif season to be 260 lakh tonnes. However, following a review of the situation, this estimate has been reduced by 10 lakh tonnes, bringing the revised figure to 250 lakh tonnes.

The Additional Secretary of the Department of Fertilizers stated that, given the likelihood of the El Niño weather phenomenon prevailing during the monsoon season, the Ministry of Agriculture was requested to re-evaluate the fertilizer requirements.

The Ministry of Agriculture held extensive consultations with the states regarding this matter; based on the outcome of these deliberations, the demand estimates for Urea and DAP have been lowered by 10 lakh tonnes.

Following the review, the demand estimate for Urea for the Kharif season has been reduced by 4 lakh tonnes—from 194 lakh tonnes to 190 lakh tonnes—while the estimated requirement for DAP has been lowered by 6 lakh tonnes—from 66 lakh tonnes to 60 lakh tonnes.

The projected demand for all varieties and categories of chemical fertilizers for the Kharif season now stands at 383.90 lakh tonnes; currently, a stock of 199.80 lakh tonnes—or 52 percent of the total requirement—is available. Typically, this stock level hovers around 33 percent.

Concurrently, both domestic production and imports of fertilizers are continuing. This will facilitate the fulfillment of the demand for the Kharif season.

Since the onset of the crisis in West Asia, the government has successfully built up an additional stock of 132.40 lakh tonnes of fertilizers, while the remaining stock was already in existence.