IFFCO to manufacture lower potash fertiliser

Indian Farmers Fertilisers Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) on Saturday said it will soon begin manufacturing a new fertiliser, which will have lower potash content at its Kandla unit in Gujarat.

"Keeping in view the highly unstable international potash prices, we have decided to manufacture a new-grade fertiliser at our Kandla unit," IFFCO Kandla Senior Executive Director L Murugappan, said in a statement. “The production of this new fertiliser, Urea Ammonium Phosphate (UAM), having lower input of potash as compared to NPK and DAP series, is likely to begin soon," he said.

The potash is a key ingredient in phosphatic fertilisers, but its prices in the international market have risen sharply from around $370 per tonne at the beginning of April to $497, an IFFCO official said. The industry has declared a potash holiday for this year in view of the unreasonable, exorbitant international prices, the IFFCO statement said.

IFFCO has also proposed to start manufacturing of a premium-grade fertiliser, zinc sulphate at the Kandla unit.

"We shall be setting up a 50 metric tonne capacity zinc sulphate manufacturing unit at Kandla. The plant is expected to go on stream by August this year," Murugappan said.

IFFCO is a leading manufacturer of NPK fertilisers comprising nitrogen, phosphorous and potash, besides Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP), which require high quantity of potash as input raw material.