Demand
for fertilers to pick up
in Rabi season
TIMES
NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, DECEMBER 04, 2003 12:41:37 AM ]
NEW
DELHI: The decline in fertiliser consumption that persisted through
the good monsoons this kharif is beginning to reverse itself from
mid-November, according to industry sources. The background note brought
out this year end by the Fertiliser Association of India (FAI) on
the state of the fertiliser industry in India has maintained that
since November 15, urea has begun showing a cumulative figure of 3%
higher consumption and DAP a 2% higher consumption. There has been
a marginal hike in MoP consumption but Rabi 2003-04 is expected to
show a definite upturn in consumption. DAP consumption is usually
higher in Rabi. ...The ample availability of moisture in the soil
as also high water level in reservoirs augur well for a substantial
increase in fertiliser consumption and foodgrain production over Rabi
2002-03, the note holds.
According
to the FAI report, the production of fertilisers had gone down in
2002-03 because of the bad drought conditions, which left little money
in the hands of the farmer to buy fertilisers other than urea. The
continuing lack of cash in the hands of the farmer in the beginning
of Kharif 2002-03 is also being pointed to as the reason why consumption
figures were not higher.
During
2003-04, , the production of urea at 9.54 Mte in Kharif 2003 was 4%
higher than during Kharif 2002. Ironically, the production of DAP
at 2.02 Mte during Kharif 2003, in response to the poor consumption
trends depicted earlier, was 23% lower than during Kharif 2002.
But
the study has noted that the fertiliser situation in October 2003,
the first month of Rabi 2003-04, has been a mixed one, thanks to the
excellent monsoon conditions and great expectations by farmers. While
production of urea has increased marginally from 1.60 Mte during October
2002 to 1.69 Mte, production of DAP declined from 0.52 Mte to 0.50
Mte during the same period. Production of other complexes increased
from 0.36 Mte during October 2002 to 0.44 Mte in October 2003.
As
regards offtake, the sale of urea declined from 0.85 Mte during October
2002 to 0.74 Mte in October 2003. Only the sale of DAP went up from
0.90 Mte to 0.99 Mte during the same period. Sale of MoP, too, went
down from 0.20 Mte in Ocotober 2002 to 0.17 Mte in October 2003
