Nutrient Based Subsidy Policy extended to coastal shipping of fertilizers

The Dollar Business Bureau 

The coastal shipping and inland water transportation have extended the policy for reimbursement of freight for movement of phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilizers under the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) Policy.

It was only the movement of fertilizer by rail from the plant or the port to rake points in various districts that were included in the subsidy but will now also apply to the movement of fertilizers through coastal shipping and inland waterways.

The move will help in promoting transportation of fertilizers through coastal shipping under the Ministry of Shipping’s flagship programme Sagarmala.

The move has been taken after a study concluded that a total opportunity for coastal movement of fertilizers is 9-10 MTPA by 2025 which can lead to a savings of around Rs. 900 crore to Rs. 1,000 crore per annum.

It has also been noted that there has been a corresponding increase in the demand for fertilizers along with demand for food. India is presently importing 28 MMT of finished fertilizers and raw materials and has Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Odisha as the biggest clusters.

It has been noticed that Kakinada, Mundra and Kandla will continue to hold the position of the largest finished fertilizer importing ports followed by Paradip, Kandla and Vishakhapatnam as the largest fertilizer raw material–importing ports.  Fertilizers constitute about 2 percent of the total cargo handled at ports in India.

There has been a rise of 2.5% in the consumption of fertilizers in the last five years which is expected to rise at approximately 4% in the future.