FOOD SECURITY'S FOREIGN CRUTCH

WITH APPROPRIATE POLICY RESPONSES, IMPORT DEPENDENCE IN EDIBLE OILS, PULSES AND FERTILISERS CAN BE REVERSED

- BY PRASANNA MOHANTY

AMONG THE FAULTLINES the West Asia conflict has exposed, perhaps the most consequential is India's vulnerabilities on the food and nutrition security front. Imported edible oils, pulses and fertilisers are leaving India's farm economy vulnerable to global shocks. The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has highlighted these secondary risks, exposing India's growing reliance on overseas inputs for its food security.

Though the Strait of Hormuz directly chokes only a portion of India's fertiliser supply—accounting for 20-30% of urea, 30% of Diammonium Phosphate (DAP) and 50% of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as feedstock—its secondary impact has disrupted the supply chains and affected the cost of edible oils and pulses.

Given that India was largely self-sufficient in pulses and edible oils till a few decades ago and the demand for chemical fertilisers was low until the Green Revolution of the mid-1960s, the geopolitical conflict has brought to fore the policy distortions and practices that have crept in over time.

The repercussions are already evident. As of May 23, the year-on-year wholesale prices of edible oils are up by 4.5-14.7%, while that of pulses showed mixed trends. Urea prices have doubled, while sugar exports have been banned despite India being the world's second largest producer and exporter.

The agriculture minister says fertilisers are "not easily available in international markets", although he assured sufficient stocks are available for the Kharif season. The fertiliser subsidy is up by ₹41,000 crore for FY27 (from ₹1.71 lakh crore estimated earlier) and more is expected. Meanwhile, farmers are facing growing distress due to fertiliser shortages and rising diesel prices. Also, the prospect of El Niño threatens to accentuate the stress.

SELF-RELIANCE TO IMPORT DEPENDENCE