ROOT OF THE MATTER

Nano urea sales fell sharply in FY24 while production capacity rose. Is it an aberration or sign of a deeper problem?

- SANJEEB MUKHERJEE

After growing by an impressive 62 per cent in 2022-23 (FY23), Nano urea sales plummeted by nearly 43 per cent in FY24, according to data from the Fertiliser Association of India (FAI). The drop in sales has come despite production capacity rising by 59 per cent.

Not surprisingly, total production of Nano urea in FY24 was 81 per cent less than the previous financial year.

Does the drop in sales and production in FY24 reflect a deeper problem or is just an aberration? Industry players have conflicting views.

Different views

Nano urea is a nanotechnology-based agricultural input to provide nitrogen to plants. A bottle of Nano urea, which weighs about 500 ml, is equivalent to one 45-kg bag of urea. It is priced at around ₹225 per bottle while a 45-kg bag of conventional granular urea is priced at ₹265-266 (after adding taxes and duties).

"The drop in sales in FY24 has nothing to do with any kind of farmers' apathy. In fact, on the ground, farmers' interest is growing towards Nano products (urea and DAP). My understanding is that the fall in sales could be due to the launch of new products such as Nano urea plus, with a higher concentration of nitrogen and reduction in sales of earlier variants of Nano urea that had lower nitrogen concentration," a senior industry official, who does not want to be named, explains.

He says this explains the fall in production in FY24, as a new version of Nano got launched while production of the old variants was discontinued.

DAP is short for di-ammonium phosphate. Nano DAP is a source of nitrogen as well as phosphorous for plants.

Another industry official, who too does not want to be named, says the drop in sales could also be due to the fact that farmers had bought large quantities of Nano urea in the previous years and dealers were sitting on unsold inventory.