The Centre on Wednesday said the country has adequate availability of seeds, fertilisers and agro-chemicals for the upcoming Kharif season, and asked states to take steps to check hoarding, black marketing, smuggling and diversion of fertilisers for non-agricultural use.
Addressing an inter-ministerial briefing on recent developments in West Asia, Maninder Kaur Dwivedi, additional secretary in the agriculture ministry, said, "The most important input is seeds. There is an adequate availability of seeds for the upcoming Kharif (summer-sown) sowing season," reported PTI.
The total estimated requirement of seeds for Kharif 2026 is 166.46 lakh quintals, while availability is higher, leaving a surplus. Dwivedi said there is sufficient supply for all major crops across states.
She said availability includes 80.9 lakh quintals for paddy, 35.7 lakh quintals for soyabean, 21.1 lakh quintals for groundnut, and 11.9 lakh quintals for maize.
"Looking forward to the upcoming Kharif season, as well as Rabi season, as far as seeds are concerned, we are in a comfortable position," she told reporters.
On fertilisers, Dwivedi said the total requirement for the Kharif season is estimated at 390.54 lakh tonnes, with an opening stock of 180 lakh tonnes. "The opening stock is a fairly good quantity," she said.
She said a meeting was held on March 30 between agriculture and fertiliser secretaries and their state counterparts to review preparedness. States were asked to ensure last-mile availability of inputs.
"States were also requested to take up a special drive so that there is no hoarding, black marketing, cross-border smuggling, diversion of fertilisers to non-agriculture usage," she said.
Dwivedi said there is sufficient availability of agro-chemicals and that wholesale prices are being monitored, remaining within the usual range. Prices of tomatoes, potatoes and onions are stable with slight improvement.
Sujata Sharma, joint secretary at the ministry of petroleum and natural gas, said steps have been taken to ensure fuel availability in the domestic market. "To ensure adequate availability of ATF and diesel in the domestic market, the Government of India has also imposed an export levy...I would like to inform everyone that we have sufficient quantities of petrol and diesel available. I would also like to humbly appeal to all citizens to please avoid panic buying.”
She said crude inventory is sufficient and arrangements have been made to ensure supply for the next two months. "As you are all aware, our crude inventory is sufficient, and the Government of India has made arrangements to ensure adequate crude supply for the next two months. Our refineries are operating at optimal capacity, and no instances of fuel shortages have been reported at retail outlets. In this context, I would also like to highlight that about two months ago, Brent crude was trading in the range of around $70 per barrel, whereas today it has crossed $100 per barrel. Despite this increase, there has been no rise in petrol and diesel prices for domestic consumers.”
A government official said states have been asked to ensure judicious use of fertilisers, reported Reuters. The official added that Indian rules do not allow crude oil exports. A partial increase in jet fuel prices applies only to domestic airlines, while international carriers will pay full price. Prices of agro commodities remain stable and are being monitored.
The West Asia crisis, ongoing since February 28, has affected global oil and gas supply.