New Delhi: Almost 73% of India’s total fertilizer demand was met with domestic production in 2025, the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers said. Domestic production of fertilizers have reached a record high in 2025, reaching 524.62 lakh tonnes, even as urea imports more than doubled to 7.17 million tonnes in FY25 due to a decline in domestic production.
India has sufficiently ramped up fertilizer production, from 433.29 lakh tonnes in 2021 to 507.93 lakh tonnes in 2023 for commonly used fertilizers like DAP, Urea, NPKs and SSP.
“This sustained growth reflects the robustness of India’s fertiliser manufacturing ecosystem and the effectiveness of Government interventions. This landmark achievement is a direct outcome of the Government’s proactive and effective policy initiatives aimed at strengthening the fertiliser sector and supporting the agricultural economy,” the Ministry said in a report.
The growth in domestic production is due to the establishment of new plants, revivals of previously closed plants and the promotion of indigenous fertilizers, the ministry added, though this hasn’t addressed the unmet demand for urea. According to Fertiliser Association of India (FAI) data, domestic production of urea actually fell 3.7% to 19.75 million tonnes in April-November 2024-25 from the same period a year ago.
Though domestic production has surged, India still faces a double-edged dependency- the raw materials for fertiliser production isn’t available locally while many finished fertilisers have to be imported due to local shortages.
