The decline came amid rainfall deficiency and drought-like conditions in several parts of the country, which weighed on farmers' spending on soil nutrients even as overall kharif sowing remained only about 2% below last year's level, industry executives said. Sales of NP/NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) complex fertilisers fell even more sharply, declining 19.4% while sales of muriate of potash (MOP) dropped 13.6%, according to provisional data from the Fertiliser Association of India (FAI) sourced from industry executives.