No scarcity of fertilisers in country during kharif season: Gowda

The prepositioning of fertiliser stocks in adequate quantities have been done in consultations with State governments, he added. Gowda assured Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan that the Centre will ensure adequate availability of urea in the state, an official statement said.

Chemicals & Fertilizers Minister D V Sadananda Gowda on Monday said there is no scarcity of fertilisers across the country during the ongoing Kharif (summer-sown) season. The prepositioning of fertiliser stocks in adequate quantities have been done in consultations with State governments, he added.

Gowda assured Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan that the Centre will ensure adequate availability of urea in the state, an official statement said. Chouhan said there has been no scarcity of urea in the state so far, even as the consumption has increased due to higher monsoon rainfall and a commensurate increase in sowing by 47 per cent as compared to the corresponding period last year.

The chief minister requested the central government to make the additional allocation of urea to the State, as demand is likely to rise during the next three months. Gowda assured that adequate supply of urea will be made available to Madhya Pradesh in coming days.

"Till June, the State has received nearly 55,000 tonne of additional urea, and 19,000 tonne has been allocated on July 3, 2020, in addition to the July Supply Plan," the statement said. The fertiliser ministry is continuously monitoring the situation and will make the adequate supply of urea to meet the demand of farmers during the ongoing Kharif season, it added.

"DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) sales of fertilisers have witnessed a significant jump this Kharif season during the month of May and June across the country due to better than expected monsoon," the ministry said. In Madhya Pradesh, DBT sales of urea have increased by 176 per cent and 167 per cent in May and June respectively, as compared to the corresponding month last year.

The urea availability position in Madhya Pradesh is comfortable at present and there is a closing stock of 4.63 lakh tonne in the State as on July 4, 2020..