China has blocked shipments of important fertilizers to India as per recent reports. Chinese restrictions on shipments like rare earth minerals and fertilizers specifically to India is seen as a result of diplomatic blockades over Pakistan and border issues between the two countries.
There has been no official sanction yet from the Chinese. But blocking of essential fertilizers that fuel agriculture growth in India indicate a form of subtle flexing of power by the Chinese. Experts claim the Chinese are testing India’s reaction to these low key sanctions.
Rajib Chakraborty, president, Soluble Fertilizer Industry Association (SFIA) was said, “China has been restricting suppliers of specialty fertilisers to India for the last four to five years. However, this time it is a complete halt”. India imports 80% of specialty fertilizers from China.
Specialty fertilizers are non-subsidized soil nutrients which includes water-soluble fertilisers (WSFs), liquid fertilisers for foliar and fertigation, controlled release fertilisers (CRFs), slow-release fertilisers (SRFs), micronutrient fertilisers, fortified fertilisers, customised fertilisers, nano fertilisers, bio-stimulants, organic and innovative fertilisers.
As per Fertilizer Association of India, India has a substantial market for these micronutrient fertiliser which is predicted to grow beyond $1 billion by 2029, with a CAGR of 9.2%.
India is been looking for other options like Jordan and Europe but procuring these chemical items will be a challenge this year. A senior official of a fertiliser company said, “While alternative destinations such as Jordan and Europe can be explored, the challenge is to land these chemicals in time,”
Former Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale labelled it as low-key economic sanctions against India. He post on X, “China is testing economic sanctions in low-key way to judge how India reacts. Bears very close watching.”
However the latest move to block specialty fertilizers takes place after China stopped its export of rare earth magnets to India. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal responded to these Chinese blockades as wake- up call for India to reduce dependence on China through building of domestic infrastructures.
Goyal said, “Obviously, there are issues around the stopping of permanent magnets from China to India, which will affect our auto sector, especially two-wheelers and other industries” adding, “Some companies have submitted applications [to continue imports], and we hope good sense will prevail, and approvals will be granted. But at the same time, we are working on several tracks — sourcing from alternate countries, and accelerating our own production capacities, including through Indian Rare Earths Ltd,”
Even as the Chinese lifts ban on Urea export, there will be restrictions for India. Urea is the most common nitrogen fertilizer in the world. As of 2023, China was its biggest exporter. Chinese put a ban on Urea citing cut in domestic prices to help farmers and strengthen food security.
