By Manoj Kumar and Nidhi Verma
NEW DELHI, Dec 4 (Reuters) – Indian firms are expected to sign a deal with Uralchem group, Russia’s top potash and ammonium nitrate producer, during President Vladimir Putin’s New Delhi visit on Friday, to jointly set up a urea plant in Russia, three sources said.
The project, aimed at strengthening India’s long-term fertiliser security, will see India Potash Ltd and Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers Ltd each holding a 22.5% stake in the joint venture, the sources said.
National Fertilizers Ltd will take a 5% stake, while Uralchem will hold the remaining share and lead the project, they added.
India, Asia’s third-largest economy, relies heavily on imported crop nutrients to support its vast farm sector, which employs around 40% of the workforce and contributes roughly 15% of its nearly $4 trillion GDP.
India’s fertiliser imports from Russia rose more than threefold to $1.7 billion in 2024 from 2021, peaking at $2.7 billion in 2022. Overall fertiliser imports jumped 82% year-on-year to $10.2 billion in April–October 2025.
The new plant will run on natural gas and follow a model similar to India’s longstanding overseas fertiliser joint venture in Oman, one of the sources said.
The Indian companies and Uralchem did not immediately respond to Reuters queries.
New Delhi has been working to diversify and stabilise fertiliser supplies amid volatile global markets and rising geopolitical tensions.
India imported 5.6 million metric tons of urea in 2024/25 fiscal year ending March, down from a peak of about 9.8 million tons in 2020/21, as domestic capacity expanded and sourcing patterns shifted.
The planned Uralchem deal, to be signed during Putin’s two-day visit, is expected to deepen India’s long-term fertiliser cooperation with Moscow even as Russian trade remains under Western sanctions.
India also imports urea from Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, and imported 5.9 million tons of agricultural grade urea in April-October 2025, up from about 2.5 million tons a year earlier.
(Reporting by Nidhi Verma;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
