1. At present, the retail price of chemical fertilizers is market-driven and not administered by the Government.

Question

With reference to chemical fertilizers in India, consider the following statements:

1. At present, the retail price of chemical fertilizers is market-driven and not administered by the Government.

2. Ammonia, which is an input of urea, is produced from natural gas.

3. Sulphur, which is a raw material for phosphoric acid fertilizer is a by-product of oil refineries.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 2 only

(d) 1, 2 und 3

Answer 1

Correct option is (b) 2 and 3 only

2019: Government replied in Rajya Sabha, "As far as market-linking of urea prices is concerned, the MRP of urea is statutorily fixed by the Government. Whereas, MRP of Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) Fertilizers the manufacturers/marketers are allowed to fix the MRP at reasonable rates as per market dynamics." Therefore first statement is not fully correct. So 1 is wrong. 

Indian Bureau of mines booklet: The sulphur is obtained as a by-product from oil refineries. Most of the sulphur is converted to sulphuric acid (H₂SO₄) which is used in the manufacture of phosphatic fertilizer. So #3 should be correct. Hence the answer is "b".