Bathinda: Fertilizer companies have dealt another financial blow to farmers by raising the price of NPK fertilizer—the most widely used variety in the country—by ?1,100 per quintal (?550 per 50 kg bag), thereby placing an additional financial burden on them. While fertilizer prices are hiked annually, crop prices see only marginal increases. Farmers across the country are already mired in debt due to rising cultivation costs, and this hike in fertilizer rates will further exacerbate their financial crisis.
Sarup Singh Rama, State General Secretary of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Lakhowal-Tikait), stated that fertilizer companies have raised the price of NPK fertilizer (Grade 12:32:16) to ?2,250 per bag; previously, the price was ?1,700 per bag. He noted that farmers across the country prefer NPK fertilizer over DAP. Farmers in Punjab have also begun using this fertilizer in large quantities; indeed, due to a shortage of DAP in November 2024, Punjab's farmers have been sowing wheat using NPK (Grade 12:32:16) fertilizer.
He added that farming families were already deeply concerned about their crops and produce due to rising diesel prices and overall inflation. The farmer leader warned that if the Central Government does not increase fertilizer subsidies, companies could raise NPK fertilizer rates by another ?500 per quintal in the upcoming season.