Fertiliser Stocks Plummet On Profit Booking After GST Council Gives Exemption A Miss

Shares of fertiliser companies tumbled on Monday on likely profit booking following a strong rally the previous week. Leading the decline was Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd. which fellover 9% during the day.

Despite the GST Council's proposal for an exemption of fertiliser from GST, Market participants booked profit even as the parliamentary panel recommendations for exempting fertilsers from GST was forwarded to the Group of Ministers on rate rationalisation.

Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister P Keshav said on Saturday that the GST Council has referred a recommendations on exempting the fertiliser sector from the current 5% GST to the ministerial group. The proposal will be taken up by the Council after being cleared by the GoM.

The Council reviewed recommendations made by the Standing Committee on Chemicals and Fertilisers in February, to reduce GST on fertilisers and raw materials in the interest of fertiliser manufacturing companies and farmers.

National Fertilizers Ltd. saw a decline of more than 7%, followed by Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd. and Madras Fertilizers Ltd., with a decline of over 5%, each.

Despite the recent decline, fertilizer stocks have performed strongly since the start of the month. National Fertilizers Ltd., Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd., and Madras Fertilizers Ltd. had reported returns of up to 43%.

Factors contributing to this performance include a hike in the minimum support prices of 14 crops announced by the Union Cabinet, robust cash flows among farmers, and expectations of a favourable monsoon conditions, all of which have driven strong demand for fertilisers.