EconomyIndian Express11 June 2026

Relief for Indian farmers; Urea prices crash in latest import tender

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📌 Summary:

State-owned National Fertilizers Ltd (NFL) tender to import 1.7 mt of urea drew landed (cost+freight) quotes of $444.9–449.3/tonne — roughly half the $935–959/tonne of an earlier IPL tender (2.5 mt)
NFL tender (issued May 27, opened June 8) attracted 6.25 mt of bids; lowest were East Coast $444.9 (Aditya Birla Global) and West Coast $449.3 (Ameropa Asia)
Price crash attributed mainly to China reissuing urea export quotas (after a March ban) following the supply shock from the US-Israel vs Iran war and Strait of Hormuz closure
India imported a record 11.17 mt of urea ($5.16 billion) in 2025-26 (vs 6.91 mt in 2024-25); sources: China 2.23 mt, Oman 1.91, Russia 1.64, Qatar 0.95
Timing is favourable: kharif planting underway; shipments by July 20, landing by August for late-kharif application
IE reported the Centre's fertiliser subsidy bill could touch Rs 3.4 lakh crore this fiscal — nearly double the Rs 1.71 lakh crore budgeted and above the 2022-23 record of Rs 2.51 lakh crore

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 Economy/Agriculture — fertiliser subsidy, import dependence, global supply-chain disruption (Hormuz), food/agri security

📝 Prelims Facts:

🔑 Key Term: Landed price — cost plus freight; total cost of delivering the cargo to an Indian port

ureafertiliser subsidyNFLimport tenderChina

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