What has been driving factor behind the recent surge in global urea prices?
I think one of the drivers has been the US. Demand from the US has pushed up natural gas prices and this has triggered a spike in ammonia and urea prices. Last year, the US started importing ammonia and gas, after shutting down its capacities because of high costs. This has set off an imbalance in both availability and price. This development is also important because all along, everybody was talking of India and China, as the influencing factors on global prices. This shows that there could be new sources of demand for natural gas or urea. That is why I think it is unlikely urea prices will fall back to $90 levels. Is the Government likely to step up imports of urea, if global prices do soften? I think the Government would continue to place a certain amount of reliance on the domestic industry. Look at what is happening with respect to ammonia the prices have shot up so sharply. The same could happen to urea as well. Over the long term, the Government will try to depend on domestic ca
