Govt signs 140 lk tns fertiliser import deals in FY11 so far

The fertiliser companies have contracted to import nearly 140 lakh tonnes of fertiliser since April 1, to meet the domestic demand, the government today informed Lok Sabha. "During the year 2010-11, 68.35 lakh tonnes of DAP, 61.07 lakh tonnes of MOP and 10.23 lakh tonnes of NPK fertilisers have already been contracted," Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Srikant Kumar Jena told the Lok Sabha in a written reply. As on April 1, the country had an opening stock of 2.21 lakh tonnes of urea, 1.97 lakh tonnes of DAP, 0.97 lakh tonnes of MOP and 1.24 lakh tonnes of complex fertilisers, it added. In a separate reply, the minister said the government has fixed nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) policy, effective April 1, 2010, in such a manner that the maximum retail price fixed by the companies is near to earlier levels. "A marginal increase of Rs 30 per bag only has taken place. In case of MOP, no increase has taken place and in case of SSP there is a reduction of Rs 70 per bag," it added. Under the NBS scheme, the government provides subsidy to manufacturers of potassic and phosphatic fertilisers on the basis of the amount of nutrients contained in them.