

Fuel, fertilizer, and food: The long tail of Iran conflict for India
LPG) at about 62%. Fertilizer imports account for roughly 30% of consumption.That headline number masks wide variation across nutrients.
Urea, the most used fertilizer, relies on about 20% imports, with similar dependence for Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium (NPKs). For Diammonium Phosphate (DAP), import dependence rises to 50-60%, while Muriate of Potassium (MOP) is fully imported.The risk is compounded by stress in domestic gas supply.
The ongoing crunch has forced the government to divert supplies from industry to households, raising the prospect of lower fertilizer output even though domestic production meets about 70% of demand.An analysis by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations shows the dependence runs deeper. Including feedstock such as natural gas, rock phosphate, phosphoric acid, sulphur and ammonia, India’s effective import reliance rises to about 69%.“Overall, these dependencies mean that India’s fertiliser security is not insulated from external shocks and market instability,” it noted in a March 2026 policy brief.The concentration of global supply in West Asia adds to the risk.
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical artery not just for oil, but for fertilizers and their inputs.According to the US-based The Fertilizer Institute, 45% of global sulphur trade, 34% of urea, and 23% of DAP and ammonia depend on countries directly involved in the conflict, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Including other at-risk countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman and Syria raises potential disruption further.India is directly exposed.
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