New Delhi: A parliamentary panel has recommended the Finance Ministry to allocate funds for fertilizer subsidy at the Budget Estimates (BE) stage to ensure that the allocation is as close as possible to the actual requirements.The practice of factoring subsidies into next year’s liabilities also distorts the true picture of government subsidies, the Standing Committee on Fertilizers said in its report tabled in Parliament on Friday. Considering the high subsidy expenditure for imported urea and other soil nutrients, the panel has recommended increasing domestic production.“The committee finds that the per bag subsidy burden on imported urea, at about Rs 2,100 per 45 kg bag, is significantly higher than the subsidy for domestically produced urea, at about Rs 1,397 per bag. The significant difference arises from the volatility of international urea prices, freight and insurance costs, port handling charges and exchange rate fluctuations,” the report said.Similarly, in the case of phosphatic and potash fertilizers (NPK), the subsidy for imported varieties is higher than for domestically produced soil nutrients.On Friday, the Department of Fertilizers informed the Lok Sabha that urea imports from Russia increased from 9.2 lakh tonnes in 2024-25 to 14 lakh tonnes by February, while imports from China increased by 1 lakh tonnes to 21.2 lakh tonnes. NPK imports from China also increased from less than 1 lakh tonnes in 2024-25 to 9.6 lakh tonnes in the current financial year.Seeking realistic, upfront budgetary allocation for subsidies, the panel said that in FY24, against the BE (Budget Estimate) of Rs 1.8 lakh crore, the final allocation was revised to about Rs 2 lakh crore, and in FY26, the BE of Rs 1.8 lakh crore for fertilizer subsidies was revised to Rs 2.2 lakh crore.