Urea output cut as gas rationing starts

Indian fertilizer 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, [e-mail]

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