World food production in 1990 totalled around 4.6 billion tonnes. If per capita food intake remains constant, the predicted increase in population to 8.3 billion people by 2025 would require an additional 2.6 billion tonnes. However, if the entire population were to be sure of a high quality diet and the pockets of malnutrition eliminated, Global annual food production will have to increase by more than 75% over the next 30 years. The FAO estimates that only 24 % of future food needs can come from bringing new land into cultivation, while the remainder will have to be met by improving the productivity of existing farm lands. A key factor in achieving this predicted production will be a marked increase in fertiliser consumtion from 123.1 million tonnes in 1994 to 145.6 million tonnes by 2000. As regards the fertiliser supply is concerned, it would be sufficient to meet the demand during the next five years.

1996 Awasthi Iffco Urea market situation.pdf