New Delhi, 12 January 2018: Yara International ASA (Yara), t he world's leading supplier of mineral fertilizers, today announced the successful completion of its acquisition of the Tata Chemicals' urea business. The Rs 2682 Crore deal included the transfer of all assets and liabilities (working capital) relating to the Babrala plant in Uttar Pradesh. It is the first foreign direct investment in the highly regulated urea sector.
"We are pleased to announce the completion of the acquisition of the Tata Chemicals' urea business. It represents a major step forward for us, as we deepen our footprint in the world's second largest fertilizer market. The Indian agricultural sector has enormous potential, which will also benefit the overall economic growth in India. We are now welcoming the opportunity to contribute with our knowledge and solutions to improve the lives of farmers in India", said Svein Tore Holsether, President and CEO of Yara.
With this acquisition, Yara gains a significant position in the Northern region, with access to a strong network of 650-700 dealers. It will enable the company to provide enhanced crop nutrition solutions to farmers in North India which has 31 million hectares (Ha) of grain and 4 million Ha of horticulture crops. Yara's turnover which is currently around USD 40 Mn in India will increase to usa 350 Mn.
"Yara has operations in 60 countries and sales to 160 countries worldwide. This has given Yara a deep understanding and knowledge of crop nutrition under varied soil and climatic conditions. We believe the Indian agricultural sector can become more productive by improving fertilizer application practices. Our experience has shown that working closely with the Indian farmer to ensure that the benefits of balanced crop nutrition are clearly demonstrated, has helped growers to improve their yields and increase their profitability," said Terje Knutsen, EVP Crop Nutrition
The Babrala plant was commissioned in 1994, and is the most energy efficient plant in India, with energy efficiency on par with Yara's best plants across the globe. The acquired plant has an annual production of 0.7 million tonnes ammonia and 1.2 million tonnes urea, and generated r venues and Profit Before Tax of respectively USD 296 million and USD 29 million in the financial year ended 31 March 2017. The urea produced is allocated for the states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Punjab and Haryana and will be marketed under Yara's global brand name for premium urea products -YaraVera.
Expressing views on the occasion, Mr. Narasimha Rao, CEO and President, Yara India said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced an impressive target of doubling farmer's income by 2022 and Yara is committed to support this mission
In 2017, the Yara teams across the country impacted over 200,000 farmers in the Indian countryside. In addition to urea, farmers in the northern belt will now have access to Yara's differentiated portfolio of fertilizer products. Our crop nutrition solution will include our tools and services to share our knowledge on optimizing yield and quality, for instance a comprehensive range of analytical services including soil testing in a world class laboratory at Babrala. Yara also offers digit I tools like Yara ChecklT which enables growers to diagnose nutrient deficiencies in crops," Mr. Rao added.
About Yara in India
Yara has a long history in India and has supplied fertilizers as well as fertilizer raw materials to the Indian market for more than two decades. Since the late 1990's, Yara has partnered with some of the leading Indian fertilizer companies to meet the demand for Speciality Fertilizers from the horticulture crops segment.
In 2011, Yara established its own subsidiary at Pune, Maharashtra and set up its supply chain as well as a channel network. Over the last six years, Yara India has established itself as a leading player in the Speciality Fertiliser segment, with a pan-India presence.
With our farmer centric approach fully supported by our portfolio of fertilizers with high nutrient use efficiency, we have helped farmers in improving their yields as well as quality creating sustainable farm incomes. We are confident that our way of working will help us in replicating our success in the cereal states as well.
About Yara
Yara's knowledge, products and solutions grow farmers', distributors' and industrial customers'
businesses profitably and responsibly, while protecting the earth's resources, food and
environment.
Our fertilizers, crop nutrition programs and technologies increase yields, improve product quality
and reduce the environmental impact of agricultural practices. Our industrial and environmental
solutions improve air quality by reducing emissions from industry and transportation, and serve as key ingredient in the production of a wide range of goods. We foster a culture that promotes
the safety of our employees, contractors and societies.
Founded in 1905 to solve emerging famine in Europe, today, Yara lIas a worldwide presence,
with close to 16, 000 employees and sales to more than 160 countries.
www.yara.com
