War-related disruption to India’s fertiliser production eased significantly between March and April, though output remains below normal levels. This is the key takeaway from core sector industry data released by the commerce and industry ministry on Wednesday.
It is absolutely critical that India manages adequate fertilisers before the next sowing season begins. The West Asia war has had a double whammy on this effort. Closure of the Strait of Hormuz has blocked supplies of both finished fertilisers and critical petrochemical-based ingredients required to make fertilisers from importers in the West Asian region. This has led to a shortage and price spike across the world. Core sector data tracks domestic manufacturing of fertilisers using mostly imported inputs.
In March, the first month after the war started, the fertiliser production index in the core sector fell by 24.6% on an annual basis. In absolute terms, the fertiliser production index in March 2026 was 95.7, the lowest since April 2021. This number increased to 103.2 in April 2026, 8.6% lower than it was in April 2025. The core sector index has a base of 100 for 2011-12.
Things are not back to normal, but they are much better than they were in March. This is partly a result of the government restoring gas supplies to domestic fertiliser manufacturing plants. HT reported on April 9 that “natural gas supplies to fertiliser plants have been raised again from 90% to 95% of their requirement…the second increase in a week” after a previous increase from “70% to 90%.
The overall core sector index grew at 1.7% on an annual basis in April compared to 1.2% in March 2026. Coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery product categories were in contraction along with fertilisers, while steel, cement and electricity registered positive growth. Is the contraction in refinery products also a reflection of the war’s supply shock? Historical data suggests that it need not be true. This sector has often seen annual contractions in the past as well.
