Government plans urea price hike to curb fertiliser subsidies

MUMBAI Mon Jun 9, 2014 10:26am IST


(Reuters) - India plans to raise the price of urea, the fertiliser most used by its farmers, by at least 10 percent in order to contain subsidy costs that are straining the budget, government and industry officials told Reuters.


The first major price hike in four years would mark an important step by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new government to cut wasteful use of urea and ease fiscal pressures resulting from a weak economy.

(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Douglas Busvine and Muralikumar Anantharaman)