Fertiliser production in India fell to a five-year low in March, reflecting input shortages triggered by the ongoing war in West Asia, even as the combined index of eight core industries (popularly called core sector index) contracted by 0.4% on an annual basis, the weakest reading since August 2024 when it shrank 1.5%.
The data, released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Monday, showed that if fertilisers were excluded from the index—their weight is just 2.63%—the overall index would have remained flat instead of contracting.
The March contraction in the index was driven by four sectors: fertilisers, crude oil, coal and electricity.
Fertiliser output plunged 24.6% from a year earlier, by far the sharpest fall among the eight industries.
In absolute terms, the fertiliser production index came in at 95.7 in March 2026, the lowest this value has been since April 2021, when it came in at 88.3.
The core sector index has a base of 100 for 2011-12.
For the new cropping season to be disruption free, the Indian economy would need either the supply-chain crisis to ease or imported fertiliser supplies to compensate for the loss of the domestic production.
{{/usCountry}}For the new cropping season to be disruption free, the Indian economy would need either the supply-chain crisis to ease or imported fertiliser supplies to compensate for the loss of the domestic production.
{{/usCountry}}According to data in the latest Economic Survey, India imports about 27% of its total fertiliser consumption.
To be sure, recent developments suggest that the worst of the supply shock to India’s fertiliser industry is over.
HT reported on April 9 that “natural gas supplies to fertiliser plants have been raised again from 90% to 95% of their requirement…the second increase in a week” after a previous increase from “70% to 90%.”
Natural gas is both fuel and feedstock for fertiliser plants. Its supplies had to be reduced to maintain no disruption in PNG (Piped Natural Gas) and CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) supplies for cooking and automobiles.
When read with the fact that the March production data shows a fall of about 25%, largely in sync with the temporary 30% reduction in natural gas supplies for fertiliser plants, an enhancement in gas supplies in April should help revive production.
Among other sectors in the core sector index, coal production fell 4%, crude oil output contracted 5.7%, and electricity generation slipped 0.5%.
Steel and cement continued to expand, but both slowed sharply from February.
Steel output rose 2.2% in March, down from 7.6% in February, while cement production increased 4% compared with 8.9% growth a month earlier.
The final growth rate for the February index was revised to 2.8%, while cumulative growth in the fiscal year 2025-26 stood at 2.6%.