NEWDELHI: India has imported 8.47 lakh tonnes of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) fertiliser from China till February in the current fiscal year, government data showed.
The Chinese imports represent 19.17 per cent of India's total DAP imports of 44.19 lakh tonnes during the period.
In the previous fiscal year, China accounted for 22.28 lakh tonnes, or about 40 per cent, of India's overall DAP imports of 55.67 lakh tonnes.
DAP is the second most widely used fertiliser in India after urea. The country also imports DAP from Russia, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and Jordan, both as finished fertiliser and raw materials such as rock phosphate and intermediate chemicals.
For the ongoing rabi season, domestic availability of DAP fertilisers has exceeded the estimated requirement of 52 lakh tonnes, with 48 lakh tonnes already sold. As of March 11, India maintained a closing DAP stock of 9.43 lakh tonnes.
Domestic production of DAP and complex fertilisers has been constrained by several factors, including marketing limitations, high finished goods inventory and insufficient manpower.
Other challenges include maintenance requirements, raw material shortages, storage constraints, higher input costs, and disruptions from natural disasters like floods.