Domestic fertiliser output reached 24.23 lakh tons in first 3 weeks of West Asia crisis Govt

New Delhi, Mar 27 (PTI) India produced 24.23 lakh tonnes of fertiliser, including urea and DAP, in the first three weeks of March, notwithstanding the gas supply crunch amid the West Asia crisis, Parliament was informed on Friday.
     Of which, urea production was `13.55 lakh tonnes, while Di ammonium Phosphate (DAP)/NPK and Single Super Phosphate (SSP) were at 7.62 lakh tonnes and 3.06 lakh tonnes, respectively, during March 1-24, Minister of State for Fertilisers Anupriya Patel said in her written reply to the Lok Sabha.
     Highlighting the steps taken to ensure smooth gas supply to fertiliser units, the minister said the government has notified fertiliser as a priority sector, ensuring at least 70 per cent gas supply.
     "Gas allocation to the fertilizer units has been maintained at 65 per cent of their past six-month average consumption, considering the operational availability," she said.
     To further augment supplies to the Fertilizer sector, an additional 7.31 MMSCMD of natural gas has been procured through the EPMC (Empowered Pool Management Committee) bidding process for the period from March 18 to 31.
     "This has resulted in an increase in total gas availability to the Fertilizer sector to 80 per cent of their past six-month average consumption," she noted.
     As of March 23, urea stock was 53.08 lakh tonnes, DAP 21.80 lakh tonnes, Muriate of Potash 7.98 lakh tonnes and NPKs 48.38 lakh tonnes.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)