India raises fertiliser subsidy as costs soar after Middle East war
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
A man harvests zucchini at a farm in Nashik, in the western state of Maharashtra, India, in January. The country's vast agriculture sector supports over 45 per cent of people in India.
PHOTO: REUTERS
NEW DELHI – India has hiked subsidies for farming fertilisers by 11 per cent from 2025 to support its vast agriculture sector from surging prices sparked by the Middle East war.
The agricultural sector helps sustain over 45 per cent of people in India, the world’s most populous nation, making it an influential voting bloc.
A Cabinet statement on April 8 read: “The subsidy would be provided to the fertiliser companies as per approved and notified rates, so that fertilisers are made available to farmers at affordable prices.”
Individual farms are small and often unproductive, and successive Indian governments have regularly intervened to protect them from foreign competition.
“In view of the recent trends in the international prices of fertilisers and inputs like urea... government has decided to approve the NBS (Nutrient-Based Subsidy) rates,” it added.
The 415 billion rupees (S$5.7 billion) scheme will run for six months for the summer crops, beginning in April.
Disruptions to fertiliser supplies caused by the Middle East war pose a double threat to global food security through scarcity and high prices, the World Trade Organization warned in March.
Iran’s restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz during the conflict have choked a vital transit route for oil and gas, as well as fertilisers.
A third of the world’s fertilisers normally transit the strait and the disruption has prompted multiple warnings about the impact on food production. AFP
