China Supply Cut Gets India to Step Up Specialty Fertilizer Production

The Centre is looking at ways to step up the production of specialty fertilizers for high-value fruit, vegetables, and flowers, amid a supply disruption from China, a senior government official told Mint.

- Vijay C Roy

The Centre is looking at ways to step up the production of specialty fertilizers for high-value fruit, vegetables, and flowers, amid a supply disruption from China, a senior government official told Mint.

Preliminary discussions have already been held between the government and leading state-owned, cooperative, and private-sector fertilizer producers, the official said.

Specialty fertilizers include polymer-coated urea that is released slowly into the soil and is available to plants over a long period; chelated micronutrients that are effective in alkaline soil; water-soluble fertilizers such as monoammonium phosphate and potassium nitrate; and stabilized nitrogen fertilizers with urease inhibitors (NBPT), which allow efficient nitrogen use on soil.