India's domestic urea offtake jumped to 3.42mn t last month, marking the highest amount in June, which has lowered stocks further as domestic production dropped again compared with a year earlier.
The sales eclipse the previous record of 3.36mn t in June 2020, and are up by 12pc on the 3.052mn t sold in the month last year. The latest provisional data also point to a record amount of urea sold in the April-June period, totalling 6.99mn t, up from 6.23mn t a year earlier and surpassing the 6.48mn t sold in the period in 2020.
Urea sales have boomed thanks in large part to the solid rains so far this monsoon season. The monsoon set in on 24 May — the earliest since 2009 — and countrywide levels in June were 9pc above the historical mean. Demand also appears set to be solid in July, with rainfall projected to be above normal this month, exceeding 106pc of the long-term mean, according to India's meteorological department.
Urea output fell to 2.36mn t last month, which is lower than rates in June in the past two years but is up from the 2.24mn t produced in May. Indian urea production has been struggling to keep up with the record rates set in the 2023-24 fertilizer year, with output lagging since August-September last year.
The increased urea sales have compounded lower production in the country to further erode India's stocks. Inventories are estimated to have been 6.6mn t as of 1 July, a substantial drop on levels at around 11mn t a year earlier. India has been struggling to build stocks in the run-up to the summer months after a series of import tenders failed to bring in the tonnage required ahead of the monsoon season. Importer RCF will close a tender on 7 July and is seeking 2mn t of urea across both coasts.
