NEW DELHI, Dec 7 (Reuters) – India, a number one importer of fertilisers, is searching for funding from world corporations because the nation works to construct storage for the crop vitamins, fertiliser minister Mansukh Mandaviya mentioned on Wednesday.

India, which imports as much as 40% of the 50 million tonnes of fertiliser it wants yearly, has been hit arduous by a spurt in costs this yr after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, a serious fertiliser producer, disrupted provides.

“This is an opportunity for the global companies to invest in India and work with us for long-term strategies. I encourage global companies to store in India for distribution,” Mandaviya advised an occasion organised by Fertiliser Association of India.

India has signed long-term offers for fertiliser imports to make sure secure provides and shield towards market volatility.

The federal authorities gives monetary assist for home fertiliser gross sales at charges beneath the market to insulate farmers from excessive costs and attempt to comprise inflation.

India’s fertiliser subsidy is predicted to the touch a document $27 billion within the monetary yr to March 31, 2023, the minister added.

Mandaviya, who can be India’s well being minister, mentioned now was “an opportune time” for world suppliers to grasp the dynamics of the Indian market.

Without naming them, he criticised corporations he mentioned had fashioned a cartel that pushed up world costs, saying India had provided medicines to over 100 nations for the reason that COVID-19 pandemic and had “neither raised prices nor compromised the quality”.

He mentioned worldwide corporations promoting fertilisers and their feedstock “need to have a reasonable and transparent mechanisms and take long-term views in dealing with issues of fertilisers in the larger interest of global food security”.

Reporting by Nidhi Verma; modifying by Barbara Lewis

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