PRODUCTION OF FERTILIZERS

---

RAJYA SABHA

Target, actual achievement of production and percentage of capacity utilization of fertilizer in nutrient terms during Ninth Five Year Plan is given below:

(‘000’ MT)

Year	Nitrogen			Phosphate
	Target	Actual	%age capacity utilisation	Target	Actual	%age capacity utilization
1997-98	9610.6	10085.9	101.5	2859.6	2975.9	101.0
1998-99	10682.5	10479.5	99.6	3026.6	3140.6	99.1
1999-2000	11067.1	10890.3	100.5	3344.8	3398.6	95.0
2000-01	11214.3	10961.8	94.9	3993.3	3743.3	87.1
2001-02	11659.0	10768.0	89.6	4930.0	3860.0	75.7

The fertilizer industry is currently facing problem on two fronts for matching production with the installed capacity. First, limitation in availability of natural gas specially for gas based urea plants such as RCF-Thal and KRIBHCO-Hazira and second, on account of frequent shut down/break down of old vintage plants. Department of Fertilizers is pursuing with Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to make available adequate and qualitative gas to fertilizer plants supplementing available gas/feedstock through supplies from recently discovered natural gas resources and/or liquefied natural gas (LNG) and have initiated steps for long-term tie-up with their prospective suppliers to overcome constraints in the domestic availability of gas. Further, many urea manufacturers have installed dual fuel facility of naphtha for supplementing alternate feed.

To encourage investment for increasing producing capacity in the fertilizer sector, the following facilities/concessions have also been made available to the fertilizer industry by the Government.

1. Deemed Export Benefit to indigenous suppliers of capital good to fertilizer projects provided such supplies are made under the procedure of international competitive bidding.
2. Under the new group concession scheme/revised policy applicable from 1.4.2003 for urea units, manufacturers, whose applicable concession rate is economically efficient, are being encouraged to produce urea beyond their-re-assessed capacity.
3. Concession on sale of decontrolled phosphatic and potassic fertilizers is available to manufacturers/importers.
4. Import of capital goods for setting up of new fertilizer plant/modernization of existing units at a concession rate of customs duty.
5. Import of fertilizer raw material and intermediates at a concession rate of customs duty.

The Government of India is promoting the soil test based judicious and balanced use of chemical fertilizers, organic manure and bio-fertilizers and accordingly implementing a scheme on balanced & integrated use of fertilizers, which provides for giving financial support for strengthening/setting up of soil testing laboratories and compost plants in order to encourage balanced use of NPK. Under the scheme, funds amounting to Rs.1287.97 lakh were released for strengthening/setting up of 166 soil testing laboratories and 9 compost plants during the 9^th plan period.

This information was given by the Minister of Chemicals & fertilizers, Shri Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.