Specialty fertiliser sector under risk? China to reimpose export curbs from October; India faces price surge

The specialty fertiliser sector in India could potentially face new supply disruptions as China plans to reenforce export curbs starting October, with potential price increases affecting farmers, according to a senior industry representative.Chinese specialty fertiliser exports have temporarily resumed, offering momentary respite. However, this relief period will conclude as Beijing intends to strengthen export supervision through enhanced inspections and shipment delays beginning next month.“It’s a temporary fix because China is closing the export window from October. They will be closing it for the entire world market, not only for India,” said Rajiv Chakraborty, President of the Soluble Fertilizer Industry Association (SFIA), in conversation with PTI.Despite current stability in India-China relations, restrictions are set to return. “Once they stop the supplies or they start restricting the supplies, they don’t stop it completely. They restrict it by imposing inspections and delaying the consignments. So that process will start again from October,” Chakraborty explained.Indian specialty fertiliser firms are actively seeking supplies during this brief window, with international procurement companies working intensively to secure seasonal requirements before restrictions commence. “We have very good global sourcing players in the market who will be sourcing their entire consignments and requirements in this one month only. Many of them are SFIA members also,” Chakraborty noted.The sector anticipates domestic supplies to materialise by mid-season, potentially alleviating some supply pressures. Nevertheless, cost increases seem certain. “We will not see much impact this time except the price hikes… Anyway price hikes will impact farmers directly,” he continued.India’s reliance on Chinese specialty fertiliser imports has increased significantly since 2005, when European suppliers began sourcing from China for Indian markets.Currently, India imports 80 per cent of specialty fertilisers directly from China, with the remaining 20 per cent sourced indirectly through Chinese channels. Excluding 5 per cent of domestically produced NPK formulations, India depends on Chinese supplies for 95 per cent of specialty fertilisers.The recent suspension of Chinese specialty fertiliser exports caused a 40 per cent price increase and created supply deficits in the specialty segment. The timing, however, minimised immediate agricultural disruption.“The impact was not so visible this time because the actual season for usage of specialty fertiliser starts from September, wherein various cash crops, horticultural crops like grapes, banana, farmers start using drip irrigation and then they use soluble fertilizer and specialty fertiliser extensively,” Chakraborty further explained.Peak demand corresponds with cash crop and horticultural farming periods, when farmers extensively utilise soluble and specialty fertilisers in drip irrigation systems.