The availability of urea, a widely used nitrogen fertilizer, is increasing across the region. This trend is supported by China’s return to the market, alongside shipments from Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, Russia, and Southeast Asian producers, particularly Malaysia and Vietnam.
Tighter global supply and sufficient domestic availability prompted Beijing to ease urea export restrictions in May, with new outbound quotas allocated for the June-August period. Shipments reached 906.8kt in January-July 2026, up 40.7% from a year earlier. July alone accounted for 403.2kt. The main destinations that month were Nepal and India, followed by Bangladesh, Vietnam, South Korea and Australia. Although these volumes remain modest compared with the export flows of the largest producers in the Gulf, China’s return to the market and shipments from other origins are significantly improving urea availability across the region.
India remains South Asia’s largest urea importer, with an expected 10.3Mt in imports this year, accounting for over 22% of the global trade. The country imported around 2.5Mt between April and June 2026. Egypt supplied 609kt, Algeria 245kt and Nigeria 244kt, while a further 211kt came from Georgia. Combined, these four countries accounted for around 52% of India’s imports during the quarter, reflecting the availability profile at that time. Meanwhile, urea prices fell to $444.90–449.30/t CFR in June, from $935–959/t CFR in April. This trend is supported by the release of Chinese export quotas, alongside the release of about 1.3Mt of cargo stranded behind the Strait of Hormuz, on the back of cease-fire talks.
The end-July tender from RCF (Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers), an Indian state-owned fertilizers and chemicals manufacturing company, took advantage of the Chinese surplus. India purchased 1.8Mt at $390.25–393.65/t CFR, with at least 1.5Mt of that expected to come from China alone. The further development of the South Asian market will largely depend on the volume of Chinese exports and how actively other suppliers compete for regional demand.
