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Due to Middle East tension, oil and gas prices have already seen a sharp rise. Its effect was seen on India also. In such a situation, after oil and gas, it is feared that the impact of this war may be seen on fertilizer. Being a major consumer of fertilizer in the world, India has to import a large part of its requirement from abroad. For some time now, the import of fertilizer in the country has increased rapidly. In such a situation, if the ongoing tension in West Asia increases further, it may have a direct impact on India's fertilizer supply and prices. Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, this further increases the possibility of fertilizer shortage. Let us understand in detail how much fertilizer India imports and how the war will affect it.

Last year, India's fertilizer import had increased by about 41 percent. According to Mint report, by February 2026, the country has imported about 9.8 million tonnes of finished fertilizer. At the same time, in the last financial year, India had purchased fertilizers worth about 10.23 billion dollars i.e. about 94 thousand crore rupees from abroad. This situation also raises concerns because fertilizer is a very important resource for farming. Kharif crops are yet to be sown in India. Something has also started. If this crisis continues then the prices of fertilizers may be affected.

supply crisis

Due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran, there is a strong possibility that the fertilizer supply will be disrupted in the future. India imports urea from Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. If UAE is also added to this, the share of Gulf countries increases further. For this reason, India's fertilizer subsidy bill will reach approximately Rs 1.86 lakh crore in 2025-26, which is more than 40% of the total subsidy expenditure of the central government. If supply routes change due to closure of Hormuz and shipping becomes expensive, this cost may increase further. That means, if the cost of shipping etc. increases, then there will be a possibility of increase in the rates of chemical fertilizers DAP and urea in the country.

import of fertilizer

According to experts, India's fertilizer import may reach a record level in the financial year 2025-26. It is estimated that it can go up to about 18 billion dollars, which is about 76 percent more than last year. In the first nine months of the financial year itself, India's fertilizer import has increased by 71 percent to about $ 13.98 billion. Due to increasing demand and limited domestic production, India has to import on a large scale.

Urea production is increasing in the country, but India is still dependent on foreign countries for many important fertilizers like NPK and DAP. For this reason, the government has tried to ensure the supply of about 86 lakh metric tons of fertilizer by making agreements with countries like Saudi Arabia, Russia and Morocco. But the thing to be noted here is that these estimates can have a direct impact on the war that is now breaking out in the Middle East. Due to this, the import data may also reduce in the future.

Import increased by so much rupees

India had spent about $10.23 billion on fertilizer imports in the last financial year. However, earlier in 2022-23 this figure had reached $17.21 billion. At that time, due to the Russia-Ukraine war, the prices of fertilizers had increased significantly in the international market. Imports have also increased rapidly in recent months. According to industry data, between April and October, India imported about 14.45 million tonnes of fertilizer, which is about 69 percent more than last year's 8.56 million tonnes. A sharp increase in the import of urea has also been seen. Between April and December, urea imports increased by 85 percent to about 8 million tonnes. At the same time, import of DAP has also increased by about 46 percent.

India is looking for alternative ways

Since India is almost completely dependent on foreign countries for fertilizers. In such a situation, due to the tension in the Middle East, it is planning to import from other countries besides the Middle East countries. According to Mint report, to deal with this situation, India is now considering increasing trade with countries like Indonesia, Belarus, Morocco and Russia.