René Muschter
Research Expert covering Industry & Mobility
Fertilizer industry in India - statistics & facts
Fertilizers are incredibly vital in agricultural production as they provide necessary nutrients for crop growth and development. They play a key role in the agricultural process, significantly contributing to the overall yield. The indispensable role of fertilizers has led to a consistent increase in the global demand for agricultural fertilizer. India, as an agrarian country, houses numerous small and marginal farmers and often struggles with low productivity and quality. Crops are primarily rain-fed and cultivated on a single piece of land over time, leading to a gradual decrease in soil fertility in many areas. As a result, the use of nitrogen fertilizers has increased significantly in the country. The Indian government has implemented various economic reforms to help make fertilizers more affordable and boost agricultural productivity, leading to improvements in the nation's food security.
India's fertilizer sector is undergoing a significant transformation due to innovative policies and incentive programs, which are reshaping agriculture and paving the way for a more sustainable future. One such initiative, the PM Program for Restoration, Awareness, Nurture, and Amelioration of Mother Earth (PM-PRANAM), aims to encourage states to promote balanced fertilizer use and reduce reliance on chemical-based fertilizers. Through this program, the government is not only supporting the fertilizer industry but also fostering environmental responsibility.
The state of the Indian fertilizer industry
As one of the country's eight core industries, fertilizer production has shown consistent positive growth since 2014. For the 2023 fiscal year, India's fertilizer sector registered the highest positive growth at 11.7 percent. India is one of the world's top fertilizer consumers, with consistent growth in domestic sales. NPK fertilizers are the most commonly used type in India, with urea being the most popular among them. The domestic consumption of urea was higher than the volume produced domestically. Domestic production has decreased due to the closure of many urea plants, and accordingly, the share of imported urea has increased considerably in the past years. To strengthen domestic urea production and support the northeastern states, the Indian government has allocated funds in its budget for the fiscal year 2025-26 to establish a urea plant in Assam. This facility will have a production capacity of 1.27 million metric tons. Alongside the importation of crude and manufactured fertilizers, the country is heavily dependent on importing raw materials such as rock phosphate, ammonia, and phosphoric acid. In fiscal year 2024, India imported fertilizers worth over 865 billion Indian rupees.Market leaders in fertilizer production
The fertilizer industry in India is made up of several government and private sector companies that manufacture a range of different fertilizer types. The Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) is a multi-state cooperative society based in the country's capital and one of largest fertilizer producers in India, having produced 8.9 million metric tons of fertilizers in the financial year 2024. As of January 2025, Fert and Chem established itself as India's leading fertilizer company by market capitalization, however, it faced significant competition from Coromandel International, India's second-largest fertilizer manufacturer by market capitalization.India's fertilizer sector is undergoing a significant transformation due to innovative policies and incentive programs, which are reshaping agriculture and paving the way for a more sustainable future. One such initiative, the PM Program for Restoration, Awareness, Nurture, and Amelioration of Mother Earth (PM-PRANAM), aims to encourage states to promote balanced fertilizer use and reduce reliance on chemical-based fertilizers. Through this program, the government is not only supporting the fertilizer industry but also fostering environmental responsibility.
