IFFCO Seeks JV Partners to Build Fertiliser Plants Abroad, Ensure Supply for India.

Days after India and Russia signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a 2 million-tonne urea plant, IFFCO, India’s largest fertiliser producer, announced plans to form joint ventures in fertiliser-producing countries such as Sri Lanka and Senegal. The initiative aims to secure long-term access to essential crop nutrients amid rising challenges in sourcing raw materials like rock phosphate and gas at competitive prices.In his first media interaction since assuming charge as IFFCO’s Managing Director in August, KJ Patel said on December 9, “Getting good quality raw material is increasingly becoming a challenge, for which one either has to pay more or incur higher financial burden. A better option is to set up manufacturing units in those parts of the world where these resources are available in abundance.”

India largely depends on imports for rock phosphate and phosphoric acid, key components for producing DAP, due to the inadequate quality of domestic rock phosphate. Patel highlighted Morocco’s OCP group as an example, noting that the company now supplies rock phosphate only to select partner firms abroad.