India Produced 218.8 Lakh Tonne of Urea in FY11: Govt.

India's urea production rose by 4% to 218.8 lakh tonnes during 2010-11, the government said today.

The country had produced 211.2 lakh tonne urea in 2009-10, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Srikant Jena said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

The production of Single Super Phosphate (SSP) rose by 20% to 37.07 lakh tonnes in FY'11 compared to 30.93 lakh tonne in the previous fiscal, while the output of complex fertilisers was up 9% at 87.27 lakh tonnes against 80.39 lakh tonne in the same period, he said.

However, output of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) declined by 17% to 35.37 lakh tonne in the 2010-11 fiscal compared to 42.46 lakh tonne in the 2009-10 fiscal.

To another query, Jena said that during the first four months of the current fiscal, India imported 18.12 lakh tonne of urea. Besides, it imported 16.27 lakh tonnes of DAP in the April-July period of FY'12.

As for muriate of potash (MOP) -- another important crop nutrient -- the imports in the first four months of 2011-12 fiscal stood at 5.43 lakh tonnes.

Import of complex fertilisers in the April-July FY'12 were 4.45 lakh tonne.

The minister said fertiliser subsidy for 2011-12 is estimated at Rs 53,589 crore, while in the previous financial year it stood at Rs 65,836.87 crore.

Jena also said, "The amount outstanding for payment to fertiliser companies in the country was approximately Rs 7,836.32 crore as on March 31, 2011."

When asked whether fertiliser production in India was affected due to such outstanding amount, the minister said that the subsidy payment was an ongoing process and that there was always some outstanding payment to fertiliser firms.

"However, there is no report of production suffering due to the same," Jena informed Parliament.

The outstanding amount to fertiliser companies has come down in the last few years, he said.

"The carry forward liabilities in last few years is reducing year by year and hence the outstanding amount is being reduced to Rs 7,836.22 crore in 2010-11 from Rs 17,134 crore in 2008-09 and 2009-10," Jena noted.

Source : moneycontrol.com