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April and May are crucial for stocking ahead of crop cycles, though officials noted these are relatively lean months for farm activity, allowing time to bridge supply gaps through imports. “We have lined up multiple imports for these months,” said Aparna S. Sharma, Joint Secretary in the Department of Fertilizers.
States have been sensitised to prevent any panic over availability, while authorities are maintaining strict vigilance against diversion, hoarding and black marketing. Officials added that states are also being encouraged to promote alternative fertilisers such as ammonium sulphate and triple super phosphate to ease pressure on urea demand.
“Government is taking proactive measures to diversify sourcing of fertilizers from countries like Russia, Morocco, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Jordan, Canada, Algeria, Egypt”, Sharma added.
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There are normal operations at several retail outlets, though some have seen instances of panic buying, Sujata Sharma said, indicating that supply disruptions remain limited and localised.She added that petrol and diesel are available in sufficient quantities across the country, even as the government continues to monitor distribution closely.
To ease pressure on cooking fuel supplies, allocation of commercial LPG has been increased to 70%. In addition, around 2.6 lakh 5-kg free trade LPG (FTL) cylinders have been sold over the past week under the Ujjwala scheme, primarily to support migrant workers.
On kerosene, the government has issued a communication dated March 29 allowing ad-hoc allocation to states that had earlier declared themselves “kerosene-free”, as part of contingency measures to ensure adequate fuel availability.