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Relevance: GS-II (IR) | GS-III (Agriculture & Economy) | Source: The Indian Express

The Sulphur Shock: How Wars and Electric Cars Threaten Indian Farming

The News: Escalating wars in Europe and the Middle East have caused global sulphur prices to double. This is a massive threat to India’s food security because sulphur is a crucial raw material needed to manufacture everyday fertilizers for our farmers.

1. Why is Sulphur Suddenly So Expensive?

Sulphur is usually a cheap byproduct created when refineries clean up crude oil. However, global conflicts are destroying these facilities.

  • The Russia-Ukraine War: Drone attacks on Russian oil refineries have severely cut down the global supply of petroleum byproducts, making sulphur harder to find.
  • The Middle East Crisis: Regional tensions involving Iran are threatening massive oil infrastructures in the Gulf, making it very expensive and dangerous to ship sulphur to India.

2. The Threat to India’s Fertilizers

Without cheap sulphur, India cannot produce vital fertilizers like DAP (Di-ammonium Phosphate) and SSP (Single Super Phosphate).

  • The Chemistry of Farming: The main ingredient in fertilizer is mined “rock phosphate.” But plants cannot eat hard rocks. The rock must be melted down into a liquid using sulphuric acid.
  • The Bottleneck: No sulphur means no sulphuric acid. If the acid runs out, the entire production chain of our most important fertilizers instantly stops.

3. The Rival: Electric Vehicles (EVs)

It isn’t just wars causing the shortage—the green energy boom is eating up the world’s sulphur supply.

  • The Battery Connection: Electric Vehicles (EVs) need huge amounts of nickel for their batteries. Extracting this nickel from raw ore requires massive quantities of sulphuric acid.
  • Farmers vs. Cars: Because of this, Indian fertilizer companies are now directly fighting with global EV battery makers to buy the exact same chemical inputs.

Value Box: Key Agricultural & Policy Facts
Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) Scheme Unlike Urea (whose price is fully fixed by the govt), fertilizers like DAP fall under the NBS scheme. If global sulphur prices stay high, the government must either pay a huge subsidy bill or force farmers to pay more.
DAP vs. SSP Fertilizers DAP gives high Nitrogen and Phosphorus for strong roots. SSP has less Phosphorus but adds Calcium and Sulphur, making it highly preferred for oil-producing crops like mustard and groundnut.
Desulphurisation The process of cleaning sulphur out of crude oil to prevent acid rain. This strict environmental rule is why sulphur used to be a cheap, abundant byproduct before the recent wars.
One Nation One Fertiliser A government scheme mandating uniform branding (like “Bharat DAP”) across India. High raw material costs make it extremely difficult for the government to keep this subsidized scheme running smoothly.

Practice MCQ

Q. Consider the following statements regarding fertilizers and agricultural policies in India:

  1. Under the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) Scheme, the retail price of Urea is partially decontrolled by the government.
  2. Single Super Phosphate (SSP) is highly preferred for cultivating oilseed crops because it provides essential sulphur to the soil.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only     (b) 2 only     (c) Both 1 and 2     (d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: (b) 2 only
Hint: Statement 1 is incorrect because Urea does not fall under the NBS scheme; its price is strictly controlled by the government, whereas P&K fertilizers (like DAP) fall under NBS. Statement 2 is entirely correct.
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