Russian companies have ceased offering fertiliser such as di-ammonium phosphate to India at discounted prices due to tightening global supplies after becoming the biggest suppliers to the country last year, three industry sources told Reuters.
The move in August by Russian companies to instead offer fertilisers at market prices could increase India’s import costs and subsidy burden amid a rally in global prices, as a top exporter, China, tries to curtail overseas sales.
“There are no discounts,” said a New Delhi-based senior industry official involved in the negotiations with overseas suppliers. “Russian companies are offering fertilisers at the market prices,” the official said.
India’s fertiliser imports from Russia surged 246 per cent to a record 4.35 million metric tonnes in the 2022-23 financial year ended on March 31 as suppliers gave discounts to the global market price.