India's fertiliser import may go up to 18 million tonne
The country's fertiliser imports may rise to about 18 million tonne in fiscal 2008-09, compared to about 14 million tonne (MT) last year, which the government is set to revise soon. Fertiliser imports may touch 18 MT this year, surpassing the initial estimates of about 15 MT, a government official said. He said while urea import may go up to 8 MT in 2008-09 from nearly 7 MT last year, DAP import would be higher at about 6 MT. MOP imports are pegged at about 4 MT. Besides, India has already imported over 4.5 MT of DAP till October and has planned further purchases from abroad during the coming months. The production and imports of DAP were earlier pegged at about 4 MT each this fiscal. Last year, production was 4.7 MT and import 2.7 MT. There has been a greater demand for DAP during Rabi as many crops require this crucial nutrient. In case of urea, the current installed capacity of 30 units in the country is 21.04 MT, even as companies are producing more than that. The urea import during April-October of 2008-09 stands at over 3.5 MT. The government had earlier estimated urea import to be a little over 6 MT. The upward revision in import estimates would have a bearing on the fertiliser subsidy bill which has been pegged at about Rs 1,00,000 crore this fiscal. Experts said depreciation of rupee and increased import would neutralise the benefits of reduction in global prices of fertilisers --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Kences1" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/kences1?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
