Potash imports may fall by 30% to 30 lakh tonnes by FY16

India's potash imports are likely to come down by 30 per cent to 29.42 lakh tonnes due to lower demand of the nutrient in view of drought and companies not entering into fresh contracts for the next fiscal.
Total potash imports till January are around 29.42 lakh tonnes and it is unlikely that the companies will further import potash as there is substantial stock available in the market, sources said.
India, which is one of the largest importer of potash, had imported 41.97 lakh tonnes in the 2014-15 financial year.
Potash is a decontrolled fertiliser and government pays fixed subsidy on it.

It is used in the form of Muriate of Potash (MoP) by farmers as a soil nutrient as well as in manufacturing of complex NPK fertilisers.
"There is a carry-over stock from the last year and at the same time demand was low this year due to drought. The potash imports would remain below 30 lakh tonnes," sources said.

In 2014-15, potash was imported at an average price of USD 320 per tonne.
Indian companies majorly import potash from Uralkali, Potash Corp of Saskatchewan, Agrium Inc, Mosaic, Arab PotashCo and Israel Chemicals, among others.
Earlier, the government had also shelved its plan to buy 30

per cent stake in Russian fertiliser producer ACRON's USD 2 billion potash mine project due to valuation issues.