Urea output cut as gas supplies tighten

Indian fertiliser companies have begun trimming urea output and reworking supply schedules to stretch their inventories of gas after Qatar halted production of the key feedstock amid the sharpest rise in crop-nutrient prices since the West Asian conflict broke out last weekend.

- Zia Haq

“At least three fertiliser companies, including IFFCO, have started cutting down on urea production to match available gas stocks,” an executive at a fertiliser company said, requesting anonymity. Fertiliser companies are reworking production schedules also because gas distributors have started rationing the feedstock to industrial buyers, this person added.

India is the top importer of liquefied natural gas from UAE and the second-largest buyer of Qatari gas supplies, which have halted after an Iranian strike on its flagship Ras Laffan facility.