(HT)
India is exploring ways to increase fertiliser imports from the US in a bid to reduce its dependence on countries like China and narrow the trade imbalance between New Delhi and Washington, an official said.
The country’s fertiliser imports dipped by 7.16% to $8.29 billion in 2024-25 as against $8.92 billion in 2023-24 and $15.32 billion in 2022-23.
The top five import sources of India are Russia, Saudi Arabia, Oman, China, Morocco, and the US, the official said.
In the last fiscal, the inbound shipments of this commodity from Russia dipped by 11.18% to $1.84 billion as compared to $2.07 billion in 2023-24. From China also, it declined by 61.13% to $0.88 billion in 2024-25 from $2.25 billion in the previous fiscal.
The imports from the US too contracted by 27% to $0.029 billion in 2024-25 from $0.039 billion in 2023-24.
The US has flagged concerns over the increasing trade deficit (difference between imports and exports) with India. In the last fiscal, India’s exports to the US rose by 11.6% to $86.51 billion as against $77.52 billion in 2023-24. The imports were up by 7.44% in 2024-25 to $45.33 billion against $42.2 billion in 2023-24.
The trade surplus with America has touched $41.18 billion in the last fiscal from $35.32 billion in 2023-24. India and the US are negotiating a bilateral trade agreement with an aim to boost bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030. Due to this increasing surplus, the US on April 2 announced sweeping tariffs against a number of countries including India.
However, on April 9, the additional 26% duty on India was suspended till July 9 as both the countries are negotiating a trade agreement.
However, the inbound shipments from Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Morocco rose by 32.4%, 54.93% and 32.91% to $1.48 billion, $1.07 billion and $0.81 billion respectively in 2024-25. The imports in 2023-24 from Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Morocco was $1.12 billion, $0.69 billion and $0.61 billion.
India is a major importer of fertilisers for its huge agriculture sector, which employs nearly half of the country’s workforce.
