Russia raises fertilizer shipments to India by 20% in first half of 2026
Russian fertilizer shipments to India increased by 20% year on year in the first half of 2026, according to First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov. Russia was already India’s largest foreign supplier in 2025, when Indian data put imports from the country at 6.5 million tonnes.
First-half shipments extend five-year expansion
Russia increased fertilizer shipments to India by 20% year on year in the first half of 2026, First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov told Interfax ahead of the Innoprom.India exhibition. He said Russian producers were prepared to continue supplying the mineral fertilizer grades required by the Indian market despite the difficulties affecting trade.
According to Manturov, Russian manufacturers delivered about 6 million tonnes of mineral fertilizers to Indian partners in 2025. That represented a sixfold increase over five years. Growth was recorded across phosphate, nitrogen and compound NPK fertilizers, indicating that the expansion was not limited to a single nutrient category.
The Russian figure differs from data published by India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, which reported that India imported 6.5 million tonnes of Russian fertilizers in 2025, an increase of 41%. The difference may reflect the use of separate reporting methodologies or shipment and customs records, but neither source provided a reconciliation.
Russia becomes India’s leading supplier
India’s total fertilizer imports rose by 45% in 2025 and exceeded 27.4 million tonnes, according to the ministry. Russia ranked as the country’s largest supplier, followed by China, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Oman. Based on the Indian figures, Russian material accounted for almost one-quarter of the total import volume.
The increase gives Indian buyers a larger source of nitrogen, phosphate and compound nutrients for the agricultural sector. It also reinforces India’s role as a major destination for Russian fertilizer producers as they develop sales channels capable of handling millions of tonnes annually.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently said Moscow intended to keep expanding fertilizer supplies for Indian agriculture. At an August meeting in Moscow with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Putin said Russia was working to meet the needs of Indian farmers and was ready to increase deliveries further.
Joint production enters the agenda
Manturov said Russian companies could support India’s fertilizer requirements not only through exports but also by creating joint production facilities. One project under discussion would place the manufacturing asset in Russia while linking Russian feedstock and production capacity with Indian fertilizer companies.
At the end of 2025, Russia’s Uralchem and India’s Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited, National Fertilizers Limited and Indian Potash Limited signed a memorandum of understanding to build a urea plant in Russia. The planned facility would use feedstock from Togliattiazot, which is part of the Uralchem group. Interfax did not provide the project’s proposed capacity, investment cost or construction timetable.
The first-half increase shows that bilateral fertilizer trade continued to expand after Russia became India’s top supplier. Further growth will depend on producers’ ability to maintain reliable deliveries, the purchasing needs of Indian agriculture and whether the proposed joint-production model advances from a memorandum to an operating plant.
