Tension in Red Sea region will not lead to shortage of fertilisers in India: Mansukh Mandaviya
Jan 17, 2024
New Delhi [India], January 17 : Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday said that tensions in the Red Sea region will not lead to any shortage of fertilisers in India as it has an adequate stock to meet the demand in the summer crop season.
"There will be no shortages of fertilisers. The Foreign Ministry is intervening, and the Indian Navy is providing protection to our ships," Mandaviya said.
He also said that the Indian fertiliser cargo was arriving via the Cape of Good Hope and that has raised freight costs significantly.
"The current stock levels, along with local production, would be sufficient to meet the demands at the local levels," he added.
Amid maritime security challenges including those in the Red Sea, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday spoke about the "perceptible increase in threats" to the safety of maritime commercial traffic in an important part of Indian Ocean and said there have been some attacks in the "vicinity of India."
He said threats to maritime commercial traffic also have a bearing on India's energy and economic interests.
Jaishankar made the remarks while addressing a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart H Amir Abdollahian in Tehran on Monday.
"We also exchanged perspectives and assessments on certain regional and global issues and developments. As you are all aware, there have also been recently a perceptible increase in threats to the safety of maritime commercial traffic in this important part of the Indian Ocean," he said.
Recently, there have been attacks on cargo ships in the Indian Ocean region.
The vessels that came under attack included the India-bound MV Chem Pluto, which was carrying 21 Indians onboard. The vessel was later escorted by Indian Coast Guard Ship Vikram to the Mumbai coast.
