Sales of fertilizers, mainly urea, remained robust in April when farmers planted Kharif crops like cotton and rice and prepared for the second round of sugarcane crop.

As per data released by the National Fertilizer Development Centre (NFDC), during April 2018, total fertilizer off-take showed a strong growth of 27 percent year-on-year to 558,000 tons primarily due to heavy urea off-take.

According to details, urea sales increased 50 percent to 375,000 tons in April 2018 compared to 250,000 tons in the same month of previous year.

Sales of di-ammonium phosphate fertilizer (DAP) were recorded at 69,000 tons in the month, which was 28 percent lower than 96,000 tons in April 2017.

Farmers heavily consumed DAP fertilizer during wheat (Rabi) sowing season, which ended in March 2018, accordingly, the drop in sales of DAP is seasonal/temporary.