DAP offtake was 72,000 tonnes in March 2007 against 79,000 tonnes of last year's March--a decline of 8.3 percent. DAP and urea combined offtake declined by 35 percent to 0.289 million tonnes during March 2007. Total fertiliser nutrients (nitrogen, phosphate, potash) offtake during March 2007 decreased by 27.4 percent to 0.179 million tonnes against 0.246 million tonnes of March 2006, a decline of 67,000 tonnes.
Nitrogen offtake decreased by 35.2 percent from 0.196 million tonnes to 0.127 million tonnes, phosphate offtake decreased by 4.9 percent from 48,000 tonnes to 46,000 tonnes, while potash offtake increased by 139 percent from 2,700 to 6,400 tonnes over last year's March.
Analysts say that dealers did not pay attention towards urea purchase because of its maximum supply during previous months. However, some pocket shortages were reported for DAP that affected its offtake in March, they said. DAP offtake was not impressive either due to uncertainty over government decision to increase subsidy on DAP which led to sudden dip in DAP offtake in March, they said.
Total nutrient offtake during Rabi (October-March) was 2.12 million tonnes as compared to 2.018 million tonnes of last year, showing an increase of 5.1 percent. Nitrogen offtake declined by 8.4 percent to 1.401 million tonnes during Rabi, while phosphate surged by 44.3 per cent to 0.686 million tonnes, and potash offtake witnessed a massive increase of 161.2 percent to 32,500 tonnes.
Urea offtake during Rabi 2007 was 2.370 million tonnes against 2.181 million tonnes of last year's Rabi, showing a decline of 16 percent. Dia Ammonia Potash (DAP) registered a massive increase at 1.154 million tonnes during Rabi against 0.769 million tonnes of last year's Rabi, showing an increase of 50 percent.
Analysts said that subsidy on non-nitrogenous fertilisers at the start of the season was the main driving force that favourably altered the NP ratio from 3.22 to 2.04 percent.
They said that it significantly contributed to yield increase in Rabi crops. Wheat production is expected up to 23 million tonnes against 21.7 million tonnes of previous season. Attractive commodity prices, improvement in availability of water and agricultural credit may be other reasons for increase in fertiliser consumption, they added. "We expect urea growth to stay flat this year, while DAP offtake is expected to register 13 percent increase," they said.