India imports 1.8 MT urea, 2.2 MT fertiliser from China in 2023-24

India imported 18.65 lakh tonne urea and 22.58 lakh tonne phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilisers from China during 2023-24, the government informed Parliament on Tuesday.

In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Chemicals & Fertilisers Anupriya Patel said, "Government of India through Department of Fertilizers imports urea (agriculture purpose) on government account to bridge the gap between production and assessed demand."

As per the data, the country imported 70.42 lakh tonne urea in 2023-24 for USD 2.6 billion. Of this, India imported 18.65 lakh tonne urea from China valuing USD 730 million.

"So far as P&K fertilizers are concerned, these grades of fertilizers are covered under Open General Licence (OGL) under the Nutrient Based Subsidy Scheme (NBS). They are imported by the companies on their commercially viable terms," Patel said.

The value of imported P&K fertilizers is not maintained in the department.

India imported a total of 106.53 lakh