Indian DAP stocks exceed 2 million t by start of September
Published by Oliver Kleinschmidt,
Deputy Editor
World Fertilizer,
India's DAP stocks have increased further on the back of strong imports, with inventories reaching around 2.2 million t by the start of September, according to provisional figures and data from Argus Media.
Importers will need to maintain strong imports to keep stocks above 2 million t over the remainder of 2025.
Indian DAP imports edged up on the month to 1.02 million t in August, the highest monthly deliveries since June 2023, Argus Media line-up data has shown. Year-to-date imports now total 3.48 million t, well above the 2.09 million t imported over the same period in 2024. The Indian government has been encouraging DAP imports by covering importers for their losses while international prices are firm.
As well as imported product, India produced 318 000 t of DAP in August, provisional data has shown.
Combined imports and production exceeded below-normal offtake of 902 000 t. Many domestic buyers have taken NPs rather than DAP to cover their phosphate demand, because of high prices and lower availability for DAP.
The stockbuild over August totalled around 440 000 t, the strongest since April 2023, with national DAP stocks entering September at above the traditional comfortable minimum of 2 million t for the first time since July 2024.
The increase in inventories has likely given Indian importers a stronger hand in negotiations and allowed them to maintain purchases below the government-recommended ceiling of US$810/t cfr. Importer RCF today bought 30 000 t of Russian DAP at US$806/t cfr, which was below the previous round of business.
Importers have so far lined up 519 000 t of DAP for arrival in September, already above the 2021 - 24 average for the month. If domestic DAP production and offtake in September match the average for the month in 2021 - 24, India could enter October with 2.05 million t in stock. Importers will have to bolster the line-up further ahead of a seasonal uptick in demand in the fourth quarter.
TSP imports matched offtake at 68 000 t in August, leaving stocks at 253 000 t at the start of September.
Find the original article by Adrien Seewald on Argus Media.
Read the article online at: https://www.worldfertilizer.com/phosphates/05092025/indian-dap-stocks-exceed-2-million-t-by-start-of-september/