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Indian officials have asked their Chinese counterparts to permit the sale of urea cargoes as the war in the Middle East continues to hinder the country’s gas supplies, threatening the production of fertilisers.

Officials reportedly asked China to relax export rules as the growing conflict in West Asia has disrupted supplies of liquefied natural gas, a critical raw material, and forced some fertiliser makers in India and Bangladesh to shut down, Bloomberg reported.

The move signifies the unconventional measures countries are resorting to in order to secure important commodities as global trade is extensively hit, raising risks for overall energy and food supplies.

Discussions underway

According to the report, discussions are underway, and no decision has been made yet. As China controls urea exports through a quota system, it still has not allocated allowances for 2026 shipments. The country is known to be the world’s top urea producer, with farmers getting ready for the peak period of fertiliser.

India’s request comes days after it eased investment rules for neighbouring countries to aid local manufacturing, a step, the report claimed, is aimed at improving economic ties with its largest neighbour and geopolitical rival.

Although India has not yet reported any shortage in fertiliser, its position as the world’s largest urea importer, combined with a possible extended gas shortage, could push the country to seek additional supplies ahead of the major planting period in June, coinciding with the arrival of monsoon rains.

Other likely sources of urea to even out the shortage from the Middle East are Russia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Egypt and China, the report said.

According to government data, India has imported 9.8 million tons of as of February 2026, with an additional 1.7 million tons scheduled for the next three months. India will likely ask for new urea imports by the end of March or early April, sources told Bloomberg.

Last week, Qatar, one of the major LNG suppliers, cut its fuel shipments to Indian buyers, following the West Asian conflict. The report stated that fertiliser makers, who are prioritised second for allocation of gas, are receiving approximately 70 per cent of their requirements. Some companies have allegedly begun to cut down on production.

India is also the largest grower and exporter of rice, and is a major producer of wheat, sugar and cotton.

Telangana Fertiliser Minister urges centre to allocate urea for the next three months

In a letter to Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers JP Nadda on Thursday, March 12, Telangana Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao urged the Centre to allocate 2 lakh tonne urea every month for April, May and June 2026, so that buffer stocks could be maintained and there is no disruption in the supply of fertilisers in the coming Kharif 2026 season.

He recalled that the state had a significant opening balance of 4.65 lakh tonne in the 2024 Kharif season, which ensured a smooth supply of fertilisers. Rao said that kind of availability in the urea stock helped maintain buffer stocks to be used during the peak demand period in July and August.

The Agriculture Minister said that by setting up a buffer stock, especially in April and May, when the consumption is low, the demand that increases in the following months could be easily met.