The Indian government enters the kharif 2026 season with a tighter urea buffer. Opening stocks as of April 1 dropped to the lowest in the past four years, potentially risking crop yield against the backdrop of a forecast of below-normal monsoon. However, as inventories of other key nutrients remain comfortable, making timely government intervention in ensuring adequate urea supplies critical to preventing any decline in food grain output during the upcoming sowing season.
The opening stock of urea as of April 1, 2026, was 54.22 lakh tonnes (lt) against 55.96 lt a year ago, official sources said. The previous low opening stock was 47.83 lt in Kharif 2022 when production of many crops such as rice, tur, urad, jute and tobacco dropped, despite the country receiving above normal rainfall (106 per cent of long period average).
“In 2022, not only urea, but also opening stocks of other fertilisers were much less than what they are now before the ensuing kharif. The government has been aggressively importing urea since September 2025 to increase availability. If the nutrient fertiliser is made available in time, the crops may at least avoid one risk factor since no one knows how the monsoon rainfall distribution will be this year,” said agriculture scientist A K Singh.
Paddy output may be hit
Sources also said that the opening stock of di ammonium phosphate (DAP) was 20.93 lt as of April 1 against 9.15 lt a year ago, that of muriate of potash (MOP) was 8.01 lt against 8.83 lt, complex (in combination of N, P, K, S nutrients) at 48.59 lt against 34.04 lt and single super phosphate (SSP) at 23.4 lt against 21.58 lt.
Scientists said that rice (paddy) production could be impacted if sufficient urea is not made available as Kharif season’s share is nearly 82 per cent in its total production of over 150 million tonnes during 2024-25.
The Department of Fertilizers last month said that more fertilizers would be available in the coming days as the government had decided to use April-May, considered lean period in demand, to beef up reserves.
According to the States’ feedback, compiled by the Union Agriculture Ministry, India is estimated to need 390.56 lt of fertilisers comprising 194.02 lt of Urea, 59.17 lt of DAP, 17.57 lt of MOP, 84.99 lt of complex and 34.81 lt of SSP.
Inter-State meet on cards
Meanwhile, the Centre on Wednesday said that on the initiative of Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, a regional agriculture conference is scheduled to be held on April 24 in Lucknow where agriculture ministers and officials of northern States are likely to discuss state-specific strategies for the ensuing Kharif sowing season, that begins with the onset of monsoon over Kerala.
A concrete action plan will be prepared on issues related to farming, farmers’ income, technology, marketing, and agricultural infrastructure, the agriculture ministry said in a statement. Fertiliser availability and its balanced use, and control over black marketing are also on the agenda of the day-long deliberations, it added.
Published on April 22, 2026