Oman is ready to consider diverting its share of the production of the Oman India Fertilizer Project (OMIFCO) entirely to India if a request comes, Advisor for Foreign Trade and International Cooperation at Oman’s Ministry of Commerce Pankaj Khimji said on Monday.
OMIFCO is a joint venture between IFFCO, KRIBHCO, and the Oman Investment Authority that became operational in 2006. For 15 years all its production was for India. Now Oman sells its share of the output on a trading platform.
“I am sure if push comes to shove Oman would be happy to consider an agreement to focus manufacturing toward the Indian requirement. But I think the two parties need to approach each other. Usually I believe you have the Ministry of Fertilizer or Agriculture which both need to approach each other,” Khimji said at the event to mark Entry into Force of India-Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
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India’s fertiliser imports from Oman in 2025-26 stood at $ 843 million.
Mitigating the Hormuz Crisis
The outbreak of the war in West Asia and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz triggered a major supply and fiscal shock to India’s agricultural sector because the region accounts for nearly half of India’s fertilizer imports and over 60% of its Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). Due to the conflict and stranded shipments, domestic urea production dropped sharply though the government has already secured more than 50% of the fertilizers for the ongoing kharif season.
On Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), Khimji said Oman would be more than happy to serve that requirement. “Whatever little LPG that we do manufacture we are more than happy to route it towards India.”
CEPA Blueprint
CEPA, which was signed on 18th December last year, provides duty-free access for 99.38% of India’s exports to Oman by value, covering 98.08% of Oman’s tariff lines. All zero-duty concessions come into effect immediately. Earlier, under the MFN regime, only 15.33% of India’s exports entered Oman duty-free. With CEPA, Indian exporters gain substantial price competitiveness in Oman’s nearly $ 28 billion import market.
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“CEPA will strengthen India’s integration into regional and global value chains. By delivering significant benefits to labour-intensive sectors, it will support job creation, drive investment and enable Indian enterprises to compete on an equal footing with suppliers from countries enjoying preferential market access,” Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said.
India has offered tariff liberalization on 77.79% of tariff lines covering 94.81% of imports from Oman by value, while maintaining strong safeguards for sensitive sectors. Products protected under the exclusion list include dairy products, cereals, fruits, vegetables, edible oils, oilseeds, rubber, leather, spices and key agricultural products.
Tariff Rate Quotas and Minimum Import Price mechanisms have also been incorporated for selected sensitive industrial and agricultural products to safeguard domestic industry and manufacturing competitiveness.
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