The import prices of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), the most consumed fertilizer in the country after urea, have reached $810 per tonne. The impact of rising prices and falling imports is evident as, on June 1, 2025, the opening stock of DAP stood at about nine lakh tonnes—approximately 42% less than last year. As a result, farmers in several parts of the country are struggling with DAP availability, and black marketing of DAP is also increasing.
Speaking to Rural Voice, a senior official from one of the country's largest fertilizer companies said, “We must learn to manage with less DAP.” The biggest reason for the price surge is China’s ban on DAP exports, which has driven prices higher globally.
In the current Kharif season, DAP stock in India on June 1, 2025, was 12.4 lakh tonnes, compared to 21.6 lakh tonnes on June 1, 2024, and 33.2 lakh tonnes in June 2023. These figures clearly indicate that fertilizer companies are importing less DAP and fewer raw materials like phosphoric acid and rock phosphate. India’s import dependence for DAP is nearly 100%. More than half of the country’s DAP consumption comes from finished imports, while the rest is domestically produced using imported raw materials.
Farmers primarily use DAP during sowing or transplanting as it plays a crucial role in strengthening plant roots and promoting initial growth. This is why its availability at the beginning of the season is critical. While the government has announced that it will compensate companies for costly imports, fertilizer companies are adopting a 'go-slow' approach due to pending dues. Although DAP falls under decontrolled fertilizers and its prices are not regulated like urea, fertilizer companies have informally capped the price of a 50-kg bag at ₹1,350, in line with government expectations.
Industry sources reveal that due to the shortage, farmers are paying higher prices—ranging from ₹1,700 to ₹1,800 per bag—in many places. While the government has warned fertilizer companies against black marketing, companies claim that such incidents occur at the distributor level and require stricter local enforcement.
India consumes over 100 lakh tonnes of DAP annually, making it the second most used fertilizer after urea, which had a consumption of 359 lakh tonnes last year. China is a key global DAP exporter. In 2023–24, India imported 22.9 lakh tonnes of DAP from China, which dropped to 8.4 lakh tonnes in 2024–25. In the current financial year, no imports have come from China.
Consequently, India is now sourcing DAP mainly from Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Jordan, and Russia. Although India has long-term agreements with several of these countries for DAP imports, industry sources told Rural Voice that these agreements are quantity-based, with prices determined by prevailing market rates.
One major reason for China’s DAP export ban is to prioritize domestic availability. Additionally, the use of phosphate in electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing has surged in China, as Chinese companies dominate the world’s largest EV market. Last year, Rural Voice reported extensively on the increasing use of phosphate in EV batteries and how it contributes to global DAP shortages.
In June, Indian companies finalized an import deal with Jordan at $781.5 per tonne (including cost and freight), compared to $515–$525 per tonne just a few months earlier. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabian company SABIC has offered DAP at $810 per tonne.
Industry sources note that this situation is beginning to resemble 2022, when DAP prices surged to $900–$1,000 per tonne following the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war. Simultaneously, prices of phosphoric acid—the key raw material for DAP—have risen from $1,055 per tonne for January–March 2025 to $1,258 per tonne for July–September 2025.
Due to reduced imports, DAP consumption has also declined—from 108.1 lakh tonnes in 2023–24 to 92.8 lakh tonnes in 2024–25. Meanwhile, the use of other complex fertilizers is on the rise. While DAP contains phosphate and nitrogen, many complex fertilizers include sulfur along with phosphate. Amid the DAP shortage, companies have benefited from increased sales of these complex fertilizers, despite their lower phosphate content. Notably, the prices of most complex fertilizers are higher than that of DAP.
Rising DAP prices are inflating the fertilizer subsidy burden, while farmers are struggling with shortages. Industry sources remark that the country must get accustomed to limited DAP availability. However, whether farmers will accept this reality remains uncertain—and the government has yet to clearly communicate its stance on the matter.