India aims to end urea imports from 2025; pegs FY23 fertilisers subsidy at US$ 27.2 billion

India plans to phase out urea imports by 2025 as it expands its domestic production capacity through the activation of new plants, according to Union Minister of Health, Family welfare, Chemicals and Fertilizers Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya. India, the world's largest urea importer, imports almost 30% of its annual urea use of 35 million tonnes. He said that due to increasing global prices, India's fertiliser subsidy expenditure for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023 will reach a record Rs. 2.25 trillion (US$ 27.21 billion), up from roughly Rs. 1.5 trillion (US$ 18.08 billion) the previous year. Urea accounts for around 70% of India's total fertiliser subsidy.

Plants at Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh's northernmost state, Ramagundam, Telangana's southernmost state, and Talcher, Barauni, and Sindri, India's easternmost state, would produce 6.5 million tonnes of urea per year. He predicted that production of indigenous local urea containing nanoparticles of the crop fertiliser, also known as nano urea, would increase to 5 million tonnes by 2025. 

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