New Delhi, March 15 -- The government expects "comfortable fertiliser stocks" during the kharif, or summer-sown, season because alternative maritime routes such as the Red Sea and the Cape of Good Hope around the southern tip of Africa are being used for inbound supplies, Union information and broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday while briefing reporters.

Anticipating geopolitical risks in West Asia, the government advanced a global tender for urea, the most widely used crop nutrient, placing orders for 1.3 million tonnes in mid-February, the minister said, seeking to allay concerns over shortages arising from the West Asian crisis. The government expects roughly 90% of the quantity to arrive by the end of March.

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