Congestion at Indian ports has left several fertiliser-carrying vessels stranded, which has slowed the unloading and onward movement of essential crop nutrients. According to reports from The Times of India, the situation has affected major ports including Kandla, Mundra, Jawaharlal Nehru Port (Nhava Sheva) and Chennai. Industry officials cited multiple factors contributing to the delays, including geopolitical tensions that have forced vessels to reroute, monsoon-related disruptions, heavy cargo movement in the hinterland and shortages of trailers. As one senior fertiliser company executive noted, 'We are losing valuable time needed for timely distribution of key fertilisers.'
The timing of the disruption is particularly critical as improved rainfall during the first half of July has led to a sharp acceleration in kharif sowing. As reported by The Times of India, by July 17, the sown area had reached nearly 60% of the normal level, compared with 48% on July 10 and 32% on July 5. While the acreage remains about 6% below the level recorded a year earlier, the recent improvement has strengthened expectations of a recovery after an uneven start to the monsoon season. A senior fertiliser company executive warned that 'Sowing has picked up over the past week, and any delay in fertiliser dispatch could disrupt distribution,' emphasizing the critical timing of these supply chain disruptions.
According to industry executives cited by The Times of India, one vessel carrying about 60,000 tonnes of DAP/NPK and another transporting 7,000 tonnes of urea have been awaiting berthing at Kandla Port since reaching the harbour on July 14. A senior fertiliser company executive noted that 'DAP needs to be applied at the time of sowing' and warned that any delay in fertiliser dispatch could disrupt distribution. Another industry executive highlighted that the delays were being driven by port congestion, a shortage of railway rakes and broader supply-chain disruptions linked to the West Asia crisis.
The supply-chain disruptions were triggered after the outbreak of the Iran war, which severely affected shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's busiest routes for commodity trade. As reported by The Times of India, West Asia is the country's largest supplier of fertilisers and essential raw materials such as ammonia and sulphur, making uninterrupted traffic through the strait crucial ahead of the kharif cropping season. The disruption also impacted imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), leading to a slowdown in domestic urea production during March and April, the period when India usually builds fertiliser inventories before the onset of the monsoon. Although vessel movement through the Strait of Hormuz briefly resumed following a US-Iran ceasefire announcement, fresh disruptions have again clouded cargo movement.
Industry executives told The Times of India that urea availability remains adequate for the current kharif season, but supplies of DAP continue to be constrained because of limited global availability of ammonia and sulphur. They added that phosphatic fertilisers are likely to remain under pressure until supply chains across West Asia return to normal. Despite the challenges, the government has arranged additional LNG cargoes and issued three global tenders for urea imports to avoid supply shortages during the critical agricultural season. As one industry executive warned, 'We must not allow inland logistics bottlenecks to worsen an already challenging situation.'
