Rama Phosphates, Khaitan Chemicals Lead Fertiliser Stocks Rally

Rama Phosphates Ltd. and Khaitan Chemicals & Fertilisers Ltd. led the rally in fertiliser stocks Wednesday on reports that the GST Council might consider exempting fertilisers from the tax regime.

The fitment committee has proposed to exempt fertilisers from Goods and Services Tax, which will be taken into consideration once the Council meets on Saturday, according to Informist. The committee operates under the Council, and is headed by central and state officials.

The market-cap of fertiliser stocks rose Rs 6,487.3 crore to Rs 1.8 lakh crore as of 10:38 a.m.

Sentiment also improved as the India Meteorological Department expects the monsoon to advance into parts of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, coastal Andhra Pradesh, the northwest Bay of Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand in three to four days.

India has received 20% less rainfall since the monsoon period started on June 1, according to the IMD. The rain-bearing system did not make any significant advancements between June 12 and June 18.

Private weather forecasting service Skymet also said the southwestern monsoon is likely to move further southeastward to make conditions conducive to rainfall in several states that are witnessing heatwaves.

Among fertiliser stocks, Rama Phosphates jumped over 16% to emerge as the top performer. Khaitan Chemicals, Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd. gained 10.08% and 7.53% respectively.

Aries Agro Ltd. and Coromandel International Ltd. gained the least among peers to become the worst performing sector.