Why DAP Is Short in India 2026: The War Behind Your Fertilizer Bill
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Why Is DAP So Hard to Find? The War Behind India's Fertilizer Crisis — Explained Simply
Fertilizer is made from oil and gas. Two wars have destroyed the places that produce them. That one fact explains the shortages, the queues, and the rising costs you're seeing at your local dealer.
📅 Published: October 2026 • ✍️ Paidavaar Krishi Gyaan Team • 🕐 8 min read
If you've stood in a queue for DAP this season, or been told "stock khatam hai," you're not alone — and it's not your dealer's fault.
Farmers across Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha have reported the same thing. The reason sits thousands of kilometres away, in two war zones.
This article explains the whole situation in plain language — what happened, why it affects your field, and what you can actually do about it.
Fertilizer is made from oil and gas. The wars in West Asia and Russia-Ukraine have damaged the world's biggest oil and gas facilities. So fertilizer became scarce and expensive — everywhere, including India.
01. First, understand this: fertilizer is a petroleum product
Most farmers don't realise this, and it's the key to the whole story.
- Urea needs ammonia, which is made from natural gas.
- DAP and SSP need sulphur and phosphoric acid, which come from petroleum refining.
Whether it's ammonia for nitrogen fertilizers or sulphur for phosphate fertilizers, petrochemicals provide the bulk of the feedstock. So damage to oil and gas facilities doesn't just cause an energy shock — it causes a fertilizer and food shock too.
No gas → no ammonia → no urea.
No refineries → no sulphur → no DAP.
It's that direct.
02. What actually happened — the chain reaction
The West Asia war damaged the world's gas hubs
Energy infrastructure has been damaged in almost every major oil-producing nation in West Asia — including Qatar's Ras Laffan (the world's largest LNG hub), Iran's South Pars gas field, and the UAE's Shah & Habshan facilities.
The Strait of Hormuz closed — the single biggest blow
This narrow sea route is how fertilizer and gas reach the world. Its closure disrupted nearly a third of global fertiliser trade, 20% of traded LNG, and 50% of the global sulphur trade. The closure in March cut off India's LNG supplies and crippled domestic fertilizer production.
Russia stopped exporting to protect itself
Russia is one of the world's largest exporters of potash, urea and phosphate. After Ukraine struck four of Russia's ten largest refineries in August alone, Moscow tightened export controls on fertilisers to preserve supplies for domestic use.
Saudi Arabia — India's biggest DAP supplier — got pulled in
Saudi Arabia supplies about 30% of India's DAP (3.1 of 10–11 million tonnes). In September, drone attacks targeted Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline, its main route bypassing Hormuz. Around the same time, Houthi forces seized control of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, through which 10–12% of global trade passes.
Raw material prices exploded
Sulphur — essential for DAP, SSP and complex fertilizers — has doubled in price since the start of the year, reaching up to $1,100 per tonne. India's nitrogen fertilizer imports rose by 1.1 million tonnes in the first half of 2026, a 52% jump over 2025.
03. "But India makes its own fertilizer" — why that doesn't fully protect us
This is the part most people miss. India meets roughly 73% of its fertiliser requirement through domestic production. Sounds safe, right?
Not quite. Our domestic production itself depends on imports. Urea production meets about 85% of demand — but it relies overwhelmingly on imported natural gas and ammonia as raw feedstock.
We can make fertilizer in India — but we can't make it without imported gas and sulphur. So a war abroad still shuts down a plant in India.
04. Why your bag price hasn't exploded — yet
Here's something farmers should know. You're currently being protected by subsidy, not by cheap supply.
A 45 kg bag of urea still costs you a fixed ₹242. That's less than one-tenth of what the government paid for the same quantity in an April procurement tender.
Since before the war began (February 2026), the Fertiliser Secretary has stated that per-bag subsidies have risen 106% for urea and 61% for DAP. The Union Budget allocated ₹1.71 lakh crore for fertiliser subsidies this year — but by June, the Department of Fertilisers requested roughly double that, around ₹3.4 lakh crore.
The government is absorbing the shock so your bag price stays low. But analysts note this fiscal strain is unlikely to be sustainable indefinitely if global prices stay volatile. Plan your input budget with that in mind.
05. Official numbers vs. what farmers are experiencing
Both sides of this deserve an honest look.
| What officials say | What's happening on the ground |
|---|---|
| Rabi stocks at 17.01 million tonnes — about 38% higher than last year | That covers only about half of the 38 million-tonne Rabi demand |
| Urea stocks 54% up, DAP 9% up, NPKS 36% up versus last year | Karnataka reported a 38,000-tonne shortfall; protests followed in Belagavi |
| Ministry reaffirmed "timely and adequate availability" in July | Farmer protests across Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, MP and Bihar over shortages and black marketing |
And on 28 September, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said India is "already looking at major significant fertiliser shortages," warning of "a major food crisis in the coming months."
So: national stocks look reasonable on paper, but senior ministers are publicly warning otherwise, and district-level shortages are real enough to trigger protests. Both things are true at once.
06. It's not just war — weather is adding pressure
India has just recorded its weakest monsoon since 2015. The government has lowered the 2026-27 foodgrain target to 373 million tonnes — 2.63 million tonnes below last year's harvest — citing El Niño and drought concerns in Karnataka, Maharashtra, parts of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Rajasthan.
Less water and less fertilizer in the same season is a difficult combination. That's exactly why planning matters more this year than usual.
07. 6 things you can actually do
You can't control a war. You can control these:
- Get a soil test before you buy. Many farmers apply more phosphorus than their soil needs. A Soil Health Card test often reveals you can safely use less — saving money and easing the shortage.
- Book early through a licensed dealer. Don't wait for peak sowing demand. Early booking beats standing in a queue.
- Plan your substitute now. SSP gives you phosphorus plus sulphur and calcium — excellent for mustard and pulses. NPK complexes like 12:32:16 also work. Decide before sowing day, not during it.
- Stretch your DAP. A reduced DAP dose combined with SSP can meet the same total phosphorus requirement, often at lower cost.
- Be extra alert to fake products. Shortage season is counterfeit season. Always take a bill, buy only from licensed dealers, and check the batch number, expiry, and seal.
- Refuse forced bundling and overpricing. Tagging nano fertilizers onto urea or DAP sales is banned. If you're charged above the printed MRP, report it to your district agriculture office.
🌾 Plan Your Rabi Inputs With Paidavaar
In a tight supply year, buying genuine matters more than ever. Every product on Paidavaar is government-approved and certified, with a bill on every order.
- Genuine Fertilizers — certified and correctly labeled
- PGR & Crop Nutrition — micronutrients and soil conditioners
- Potassium Humate 98% — improves nutrient uptake efficiency
Not sure what to substitute if DAP runs short in your area? Our advisory team can help.
Shop Genuine Fertilizers →08. Frequently Asked Questions
Why is there a DAP shortage in India in 2026?
The wars in West Asia and Russia-Ukraine damaged major oil and gas facilities that supply the raw materials for fertilizer. The Strait of Hormuz closure disrupted about a third of global fertiliser trade, and sulphur prices doubled, making DAP scarce and costly worldwide.
Will fertilizer prices go up for farmers?
Farmer-facing prices are fixed by subsidy — urea is still ₹242 per 45kg bag. However, per-bag subsidies have risen 106% for urea and 61% for DAP, and the subsidy requirement has roughly doubled to about ₹3.4 lakh crore, which analysts say may be hard to sustain indefinitely.
What can I use instead of DAP?
SSP (which also provides sulphur and calcium), NPK complexes such as 12:32:16 or 10:26:26, or a reduced DAP dose combined with SSP. Match the total phosphorus to your soil test recommendation.
Is India running out of fertilizer?
Official data shows Rabi stocks at 17.01 million tonnes, about 38% higher than last year, which covers roughly half of Rabi demand. However, shortages have been reported at district level in several states, and the External Affairs Minister warned in September of significant fertiliser shortages ahead.
Why can't India just make its own fertilizer?
India does produce about 73% of its requirement domestically, but that production depends on imported natural gas, ammonia and sulphur. So international supply disruptions still affect Indian factories directly.
09. The bottom line
A war thousands of kilometres away reached your field through a simple chain: damaged refineries → less gas and sulphur → less fertilizer → shortages at your dealer.
This isn't going to resolve quickly — the conflicts are escalating rather than easing. But farmers who test their soil, book early, and have a substitution plan ready will get through this season in far better shape than those who wait and hope.
Plan now, not on sowing day.
Disclaimer: This article is based on publicly reported information available as of early October 2026. Fertilizer prices, stock positions, and availability change frequently and vary by state and district. Verify current local availability with your district agriculture office or licensed dealer, and follow soil-test-based recommendations for your specific crop and field.