Size of Indian Fertilizer Industry

The production of food grains in India rose by an excess of 156 million MT since 1951-52. The fertilizer industry has played a major role in this mass production of food grains. The fertilizer industry came into being in India in the year of 1906. The first manufacturing unit of Single Super Phosphate (SSP) had a manufacturing capacity of 6000 MT.

[br]As per Government of India records on 31.01.2007, the Indian fertilizer industry has made a production of 120.61 LMT of nitrogen (N) and 56.59 LMT of phosphatic (P) nutrient. The installed capacity of urea in India is estimated to be 207.52 LMT. These successes in the production by the fertilizer companies of India have crowned India the 3rd largest fertilizer producer in the world.

In 2005-06 the production of fertilizers in India was equally impressive. In nutrient terms (N, P and K), the annual consumption of fertilizers in 2005-2006 was 203.40 LMT. This was an increase by more than 200 LMT since 1951-52. Per hectare consumption of fertilizers has also witnessed a considerable growth. In 2005-06 per hectare consumption has scaled to 104.5 Kg while the figure was less than1 Kg in 1951-52.

The Indian fertilizer industry started operating in a big scale since 1940s, when the Fertilizer & Chemicals Travancore of India Ltd. and the Fertilizers Corporation of India were set up in Kerala and Bihar respectively. The fertilizer industry in India grew to a considerable extent in 1970s and 1980s after the emergence of the green revolution in the late sixties.

India has reached self-reliance in food-grain production. The country also generates surpluses to an extent that she can export. This massive production owes largely to the public sector as well as the cooperative sector of the fertilizer industry. Under the administrative control of the Department of Fertilizers, there are 9 public sector undertakings. The cooperative societies count two in number.[br] The private sector has also contributed to the Indian fertilizer industry. Some of the notable private companies to contribute to the production are Chambal Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited and Tata Chemicals Limited. The private sector produced 44.73 % of nitrogenous fertilizers and 62.08 % of phosphatic fertilizers in 2006-07.

The Indian large size fertilizer units manufacture wide varieties of nitrogenous and phosphatic/ complex fertilizers. As in 2005-06, these large-scale fertilizer units count 56. In addition to the nitrogenous and phosphatic/ complex fertilizers, the large-scale units produce urea and ammonium sulphate as a by-product. The single super phosphate is produced in India by 9 units. Besides, there are 72 small and medium scale fertilizer units. These units operate mainly to produce SSP.

The production of urea in India has reached near self-sufficiency. The requirement of the nitrogenous fertilizers is met through the indigenous industry. In the case of phosphatic fertilizers, the raw materials and intermediates are imported in large scale. With the aid of the imported raw materials, phosphatic fertilizers are produced to meet the requirements for the domestic market. The requirement of potash (K) is met entirely through imports. No fertilizer unit of India has any reserve of potash.

The growth of the fertilizer industry was at its peak in the 1970s and 1980s. The growth was a bit stagnant in the last decade of the 20th century. But, with many radical steps been taken by the Government of India, the industry is expected to grow again.