With fall in global prices, fertilizer companies are looking to import phosphoric acid at no more than USD 1,000-1,050 per tonne — around 40 per cent cheaper than the price quoted by global suppliers in the September quarter.
The Indian companies are negotiating with global suppliers to buy phosphoric acid, which is a key raw material for the manufacturing of DAP (Di-ammonium phosphate) and other NPK fertilisers.
The country imports around 3 million tons of phosphoric acid annually.
According to sources, the price of phosphoric acid was USD 1,715 per tonne for the last quarter ended 2022.
International prices of DAP fell sharply during the last quarter and therefore the rates of phosphoric acid are also expected to fall significantly, they added.
The international prices of phosphoric acid are decided on a quarterly basis. The key international suppliers are OCP Morocco, JPMC Jordan, Senegal etc.
Sources said a company has purchased a cargo of phosphoric acid from Senegal at USD 1,200 per tonne, but the rate is still higher.
Leading Indian fertilizer companies are looking to buy phosphoric acid at USD 1,000-1,050 per tonne for the next quarter, sources said, adding that the Union fertilizer ministry is also of the view that prices should be lower than USD 1,100 per tonne for the October quarter .
Last week, Madras Fertilisers Ltd signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understating) to import 30,000 tonnes of phosphoric acid solution annually from Dubai-based Agrifields to boost the availability of non-urea nutrients. About 1.67 lakh tonnes of NPKs will be produced by using this quantity of phosphoric acid.
The agreement is for three years. This is a significant step towards improving the availability of DAP and NPK fertilizers for Indian farmers.
The MoU was presented to Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers Mansukh Mandaviyah on Friday.
”India’s partnerships with global suppliers for ensuring a long-term supply of fertilizers to Indian farmers will also address international cartelisation,” Mandaviya had said.
The minister had noted that the international market has seen a downward trend in phosphatic fertilizers and the same trend should get reflected in raw materials of fertilizers like phosphoric acid in the coming quarters.
”Given India’s high dependence on imports of raw material and fertiliser minerals, the government of India has been entering into such supply partnerships with global producers and suppliers for ensuring stable long-term availability of P&K fertilisers to Indian farmers,” Mandaviya had said .
The government is making available fertilisers, namely urea and 25 grades of P&K fertilisers to farmers at subsidized prices through manufacturers/importers.
In the case of urea, the Center fixes the maximum retail prices and reimburses the difference between the maximum retail price and production cost in the form of a subsidy.
Under the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) scheme, which is being implemented since April 2010, a fixed rate of subsidy (in Rs per kg basis) is announced for nutrients namely nitrogen (N), phosphate (P), potash (K) and sulfur (S) by the government on an annual basis.
The subsidy rates per kg for the nutrients N, P, K, and S are converted into per tonne subsidies on the various P&K fertilisers covered under the NBS.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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