The availability of Urea stood at 32.24 lakh tonnes (LT) in the month of January compared to the requirement of 29.41 LT, as per the data compiled by government. Urea, one of the most widely used solid nitrogen fertilizers, is used to boost output of various crops in the country.
The maximum quantity was supplied to state of Uttar Pradesh, which stood at 7.85 LT followed by Punjab and Haryana. Urea supply to Punjab was 2.63 LT, Haryana 2.6 LT, Rajasthan 2.53 LT, Gujarat 2.18 LT, Madhya Pradesh 2.17 LT, Bihar 2.11 LT, Andhra Pradesh 2.04 LT and West Bengal 1.06 LT in the month of January.
Besides, supply of urea to states such as Assam, Uttarkhand, Odisha, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir put together was less than 1,00,000 tonnes.
India produces about 22 MT of urea and imports about 8-9 MT in order to meet the shortfall. Farmers receive urea at a fixed subsidized maximum retail price (MRP) of Rs 5,360 per tonne and the difference between the cost of production and MRP of urea is provided as a subsidy to manufacturers.