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New Delhi: Across the farming belts of north India, preparations for the crucial Kharif sowing season usually rely on an uninterrupted flow of domestic and imported crop nutrients.

That flow is now under severe strain after military strikes on Qatari energy infrastructure and the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz disrupted global supply chains. These events have prompted the Union government to trigger emergency rationing of natural gas to insulate India’s fertiliser sector from a looming production shortfall. India relies heavily on imports in this sector, with 80% of ammonia it needs, coming from West Asia. All of India’s ammonia-urea plants are gas-based, so the shortage of gas also squeezes fertiliser availability. A fertiliser shortage could directly trigger a food crisis as seeds need to be planted at a specific time in a particular month and beyond LPG or even petrol/diesel for automobiles, this may be the worst crisis India faces, even if invisible at first glance. 

But the government of India, as was evident from its press conference by ministry officials, does not want to seed (or cede) any signs of nervousness.

Strict vigil on diversion of fertilizer for non agriculture use, Govt says amid West Asia war pic.twitter.com/quwBud9WZQ — Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) April 1, 2026

Strict vigil on diversion of fertilizer for non agriculture use, Govt says amid West Asia war pic.twitter.com/quwBud9WZQ

— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) April 1, 2026

The situation, however, is grim.

India is the world’s second-largest user of fertilisers, consuming nearly 400 lakh tonnes of urea annually. The domestic industry relies heavily on imports for both raw materials and finished products. Urea accounts for 45% of fertiliser consumption in India, while complex fertilisers such as diammonium phosphate (DAP) and nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) account for one-third, and single super phosphate (SSP) and muriate of potash (MOP) make up the remainder.

Over 50% of India’s natural gas imports and approximately 80% of its ammonia requirements are sourced from West Asia, with shipments typically passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Data from Crisil Ratings indicates this reliance is deepening; West Asia accounted for 40% of overall urea and DAP imports in the first nine months of fiscal 2026, compared to 42% in fiscal 2025 and 28 percent in fiscal 2024.

The immediate crisis began when Iranian strikes on facilities at........

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