Govt Likely To Hike Fertiliser Subsidy.

With the unrest in Middle East expected to raise fertiliser prices for the kharif crop, the Cabinet, scheduled to meet on Thursday, is likely to take a decision for upward revision in the nutrient based subsidy (NBS) rates of phosphatic and potassic fertilizers under the NBS regime that came into force in April last year.

The move has been necessitated with the Fertilizer Ministry pointing to the government that the fertilizer industry had not finalised contracts for imports of phosphatic and potassic fertilisers even by the middle of February. The usual trend is closing the import contracts by February-end.

India is dependent on imports from Arab and other northern African countries to meet its domestic need of phosphatic (P) and potassic (K) fertilisers. But the prices of the fertliser and its inputs have risen sharply because of unrest in these regions. For example, prices for potash in international market is hovering around $500 a tonne as against the weighted average benchmark price of potash at $350 a tonne last year.

Source : indianexpress.com