After the sharp fall in international prices of DAP (Di-ammonium phosphate) during the last quarter, Indian fertiliser companies are also expecting a fall in the price of phosphoric acid and are willing to import it at 40% less price than the price quoted by global suppliers in the September quarter.
The companies are willing to pay around $1,000-1,050 per tonne which is a sharp downfall from the last price of $1,715 per tonne for the last quarter.
Phosphoric acid is a critical raw material in the production of DAP and other NPK fertilisers and its international prices are decided on a quarterly basis. The key international suppliers of phosphoric acid are OCP Morocco, JPMC Jordan, Senegal, etc.
Union Fertiliser Ministry also feels that the prices should be below $1100 per tonne from October and leading companies are also looking to buy phosphoric acid at $1000-1050 for the next quarter.
Madras Fertilisers Ltd signed an agreement last week to import 30,000 tonnes of phosphoric acid solution per year from Dubai-based Agrifields in order to increase the availability of non-urea nutrients. Using this amount of phosphoric acid, approximately 1.67 lakh tonnes of NPKs will be produced. The three-year agreement is a significant step toward increasing DAP and NPK fertiliser availability for Indian farmers.
Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers Mansukh Mandaviya was presented with the MoU on Friday. "India's partnerships with global suppliers for ensuring a long-term supply of fertilisers to Indian farmers will also address international cartelisation," he said.
Mandaviya noted that internationally phosphatic fertilisers are witnessing a downward trend and the same should reflect in raw materials like phosphoric acid in 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 said.
The government announces an annual fixed rate of subsidy for nutrients such as Nitrogen (N), Phosphate (P), Potash (K), and Sulphur (S) under the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) scheme, which has been in place since April 2010.
With Inputs from PTI.
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