India Sources Urea and DAP from 17 Countries to Cushion Iran Conflict Supply Risk

US and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February 2026 sent an immediate supply-risk signal to New Delhi, which moved swiftly to broaden its fertiliser sourcing network. By the close of June, India had procured urea and diammonium phosphate (DAP) from as many as 17 countries — a marked departure from its historically Gulf-heavy import reliance.

Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Anupriya Patel disclosed the figures in the Rajya Sabha, confirming that Gulf nations such as Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia remained on the supplier list but were now joined by Russia, the United States, Vietnam, Türkiye, and several North African economies. The breadth of sourcing reflects both the urgency of the situation and India's growing capacity to activate alternative trade routes under supply pressure.

The import ramp-up followed a clear escalation curve as kharif sowing demand intensified.

Urea imports by month:

• April: 5.83 lakh tonnes
• May: 4.10 lakh tonnes
• June: 5.15 lakh tonnes

DAP imports by month:

• April: 49,000 tonnes (exclusively from Morocco)
• May: 1.32 lakh tonnes (Morocco, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea)
• June: 5.30 lakh tonnes (Algeria, China, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, United States)

June's DAP surge — more than four times May's volume — coincided with peak kharif planting activity. On the urea side, Egypt (3.95 lakh tonnes) and Russia (2.84 lakh tonnes) were the dominant June suppliers, with Algeria, Georgia, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia also contributing meaningful volumes.

Two significant global suppliers played only marginal roles in India's April–June procurement. China, which had earlier restricted urea exports citing domestic demand, shipped just 29,000 tonnes of urea in April and 45,000 tonnes of DAP in July — negligible against India's scale of need. The United States supplied 60,000 tonnes of DAP in July and no other fertiliser category during the period.

The limited participation of both countries underlines the structural risk India faces when major global exporters pull back supply for domestic or geopolitical reasons. That said, the successful activation of suppliers including Algeria, Egypt, Georgia, Nigeria, and Vietnam demonstrates that India's procurement machinery can respond with agility when traditional channels are under stress.

Domestic production contributed meaningfully alongside imports. Between April and June, Indian plants produced 71.55 lakh tonnes of urea and 9.84 lakh tonnes of DAP — a substantial base that imports supplemented rather than replaced.

The combined picture for the April 1–July 29 period is reassuring:

Nutrient Requirement Availability DBT Sales Closing Stock (Jul 29) Urea 122.84 LT 177.28 LT 112.53 LT 64.75 LT DAP 35.44 LT 43.03 LT 26.59 LT 16.44 LT

An additional 21.21 lakh tonnes of Single Super Phosphate (SSP) was also available as of July 29. The government confirmed that fertiliser availability for the ongoing kharif season remains adequate, with stocks comfortably exceeding demand.