Tuesday, March 17, 2015
A chemical Fertilizer is known as inorganic fertilizer when its constituents are originated through synthetic means making them non- degradable. To sustain reliable and hastened growth, these fertilizers are added to the soil. They contain one or more of the essential growth nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium and various others. There are a number of different types of chemical fertilizer; all manufactured for applications in different soil conditions for a variety of plants and crops. Most contain significant amounts of the three nutrients known as macronutrients. If the soil lacks any of these three nutrients, plant growth and production will suffer. Due to different planting mediums and soil conditions, chemical fertilizers are often created with this in mind.
India witnessed significant growth of the fertilizer industry during the sixties and the seventies. By 2003, India had an installed capacity of 12.11 million MT of nitrogen and 5.36 million MT of phosphate. Today, with 57 large sized fertilizer plants manufacturing a wide variety of the nitrogenous, complex and phosphatic fertilizers, the Indian fertilizer industry is the 3rd largest producer.
Indian Fertilizer industry today has succeeded in meeting the demand of all chemical fertilizers over the years. The first manufacturing unit was started by the Indian Fertilizer Industry which was of Single Super Phosphate (SSP) in Ranipet near Chennai with a capacity of 6000 MT a year. The increasing pressure of population on the available land resources necessitates higher agricultural productivity, which can be achieved through more intensive use of fertilizer nutrients. Fertilizer is generally defined as any material (organic or inorganic; natural or synthetic) which supplies one or more of the essential chemical elements to the plants. The consumption of fertilizer over a period has shown increasing trend. During 2011-12, the consumption of fertilizers has increased by 23% as compared to 2006-07.The balanced use of chemical fertilizer is important not only for increasing the agricultural productivity but also for sustaining soil fertility.
Demand: Past & Future
Year mn MT
1990-91 8.00
1991-92 8.05
1996-97 9.77
1997-98 11.45
1998-99 11.12
1999-00 11.72
2000-01 11.11
2001-02 11.04
2002-03 10.63
2003-04 10.77
2004-05 11.75
2005-06 12.75
2006-07 13.80
2007-08 14.50
2008-09 15.40
2009-10 14.90
2010-11 15.35
2011-12 16.10
2012-13 16.90
2013-14 17.60
2014-15 18.10
2019-20 21.00
Leading Players
IFFCO
NFL
RCFL
KHRIBCO
Chambal Fertilisers (CFCL)
FACT
GNFC
GSFC
Nagarjuna
Oswal
Indo-Gulf
SPIC
Tata Chem
Zuari
MFL
Market Growth Rates
1990-91-1996-97 3.4%
1996-97-2001-02 2.4%
2001-02-2006-07 4.6%
2006-07-2011-12 3.1%
2011-12-2019-20 3.4%
Sensitivity Coefficient 4.2%
Source: NPCS Team