FACT, Coromandel, other fertiliser stocks fall up to 7% as China blocks specialty fertiliser exports

Chinese officials are avoiding the mandatory inspection of India-bound consignments of specialty fertilisers, thus blocking exports to the country through procedural means rather than an explicit ban, The Economic Times reported citing top executives of large importing companies. India imports nearly 80% of its requirement for these specialty fertilisers from China, which is the biggest producer.

"This time it is a complete halt," said Rajib Chakraborty, president of the Soluble Fertilizer Industry Association (SFIA), in the ET report. “China has been restricting supplies to India for the past 4–5 years, but never like this.”

India imports nearly 80 percent of its specialty fertilisers, such as water-soluble nutrients, liquid foliar feeds, slow- and controlled-release variants, and bio-stimulants, from China. The country typically imports around 150,000 to 160,000 tonnes of these high-efficiency nutrients during the June to December cropping period, according to industry estimates cited by ET.

Indian equities rose for a third straight session on Thursday, driven by gains in shares of Reliance Industries and in sectors such as financials and metals, as easing Israel-Iran tensions bolstered risk appetite.

The Nifty 50 rose 1.21% to 25,549, and the BSE Sensex gained 1.21% to 83,755.87, building on a 1% rally over the previous two sessions to hit nine-month highs.

The two main indexes are about 3% below their all-time highs hit on September 2024. So far this year, the Nifty 50 and the Sensex have risen about 8% and 7%, respectively.