Forced bundling of specialty fertilisers illegal, harms farmers and industry, says IMMA

New Delhi: The forced bundling of specialty fertilisers such as biostimulants, water solubles and micronutrients with subsidised urea and DAP is illegal and is hurting both farmers and a specialty fertiliser industry that has grown to nearly USD 1 billion, the Indian Micro Fertilizer Manufacturers Association (IMMA) said. Dealers are coercively tagging unsubsidised specialty products with subsidised fertilisers at the point of sale, leaving farmers with no choice but to buy items they may not need, IMMA president Rahul Mirchandani said.

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"The practice was damaging the reputation of legitimate brands built through years of farmer outreach and demand generation," he said at the SOMS 2026 (Specialty Fertilizer Summit & B2B Expo 2026), being held from July 2-4.

The practice amounts to an unfair trade practice under the Consumer Protection Act and a prohibited tie-in arrangement under the Competition Act, besides being punishable under Clause 31 of the Fertiliser Control Order, which allows for suspension or cancellation of a dealer's licence for stocking unlawful goods, the association said.

It cited a ruling by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in August 2025 that held tagging to be a retail irregularity and a prima facie abuse of market position, as well as observations by the Lok Sabha Standing Committee that beneficiaries cannot be compelled to buy any product along with subsidised urea.

Several states have already taken enforcement action against tagging, IMMA said. Uttar Pradesh has issued a state order and seen seven FIRs filed over forced tagging, it said, adding that Gujarat has issued a circular after receiving 41 complaints, leading to the suspension of 12 dealer licences and the delinking of nano-fertilisers from regular fertiliser movement.

Madhya Pradesh has suspended Form A-2 licences of some companies, Haryana has imposed a district-level sales ban in Ambala, and Maharashtra has directed its Director of Agriculture to enforce a state-wide ban on tagging following a CCI probe, the association said.

IMMA described the eradication of coercive tagging as a "national imperative" that would protect farmers, dealers and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) that have built the specialty fertiliser sector, and said it would raise the issue at a government policy dialogue in Delhi in September and at its National Crop Nutrition Summit in February.

IMMA, which completes four decades this year and has statutory representation on bodies such as the Bureau of Indian Standards, State Fertilizer Committees and the Fertilizer Association of India, said it had commissioned an independent study to assess the size of the specialty fertiliser sector for the first time.

The study valued the combined market for water solubles, biostimulants and micronutrients at USD 918 million, or about Rs 8,200 crore, it said.

Of this, water solubles account for around Rs 3,700 crore and are growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7 per cent, though nearly 65 per cent of the segment is still imported, IMMA said, adding that domestic manufacturers are working towards import substitution.

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Biostimulants, valued at Rs 2,350 crore, are the fastest-growing segment with an 11.5 per cent CAGR, following a regulatory overhaul last year that brought the category under the Fertiliser Control Order and reduced the number of registered entities from about 8,000 to 140, it said.

Micronutrients, valued at Rs 2,142 crore, are the steadiest-growing of the three segments, according to the association.

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