India’s Fertilizer Stocks Reach 197.56 Lakh Tonnes as Gulf Shipping Risks Rise
Key Facts
Indian government data showed fertilizer stocks stood at about 197.56 lakh tonnes on June 8, against reassessed kharif 2026 requirements of 383.9 lakh metric tonnes. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said stocks were equivalent to more than 51% of requirements, exceeding the usual level of about 33%. These volumes provide a supply base for the agricultural season as India monitors risks to shipping through the Gulf. According to the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, cumulative stocks stood at 196.08 lakh tonnes on June 22, compared with 168.67 lakh tonnes on the corresponding date a year earlier. The comparison shows stocks were higher year on year, while the June figures remain a snapshot from before the maritime developments in October.
The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers said fertilizer sales from March 1 to June 21 totaled 153.4 lakh tonnes, up 13.2 lakh tonnes from the same period a year earlier, when they stood at 140.2 lakh tonnes. On the supply side, the ministry said four vessels carrying urea, diammonium phosphate and sulfur passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the week before June 22, bound for Indian ports. These shipments reflect the link between the arrival of fertilizer inputs and the safety of maritime routes in the Gulf. The Department of Fertilizers also decided to give fertilizer plants priority in natural gas supplies, with volumes set at no less than 70% of their average consumption over the previous six months. The department said the supply priority aims to protect domestic production amid disruptions to global supplies.
Navigation risks escalated in October, with the Associated Press reporting that the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations recorded the highest number of reported attacks on commercial vessels during the month since March, in the first weeks of the war. The agency cited Lloyd’s List Intelligence as recording 28 attacks on vessels during October, as oil tanker operators continued moving crude through the Strait of Hormuz under U.S. military protection. Lloyd’s said that "operators active in the Gulf show little sign of withdrawing" despite the attacks. As an alternative route for oil flows, the capacity of Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline rose from 2 million barrels per day to 7 million barrels per day, Aramco President Amin Nasser said in an interview cited by the agency. India is scheduled to release industrial production index data for September 2026 on October 28, according to the Press Information Bureau of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.