IFFCO eyes at setting up JVs abroad to secure finished products for India

India's top fertiliser co-operative plans overseas units with buyback pacts to secure scarce inputs like rock phosphate

As global sourcing of critical raw materials is becoming more uncertain, India’s largest fertiliser producer, Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (Iffco), is exploring joint venture (JV) manufacturing units in Sri Lanka, Jordan, and Senegal with  100 per cent buyback option for finished products, Managing Director K J Patel said.

 

In his first interaction with reporters after taking charge, Patel said Sri Lanka is being considered for a diammonium phosphate (DAP) or phosphoric acid JV because of its high-quality rock phosphate reserves.

 

In Jordan, Iffco plans to expand phosphoric acid capacity from 500,000 tonnes to 1 million tonnes (mt) in its existing JV called Jordan India Fertiliser Company, while in Senegal where IFFCO has a small stake in a urea plant owned by Industries Chimiques du Senegal (ICS) of India’s Indo Rama group in which it could either buy majority stake or look for a new partner to set up another plant there. Senegal also on the radar for rock phosphate exploration.

   

“Getting good-quality raw materials is increasingly becoming a challenge, for which one either has to pay more or incur a 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,” Patel told reporters on Tuesday evening.

 

He added that the recent memorandum of understanding between three Indian fertiliser firms and Russia’s Uralchem for a 1.8–2 mt urea plant could become a model for other overseas ventures.

 

India does not produce rock phosphate or phosphoric acid domestically, importing the entire requirement. DAP is the country’s second-largest fertiliser after urea, with annual demand estimated at 10–11 mt. Nearly half — roughly 4–5 mt — is imported.

 

Prices of rock phosphate and phosphoric acid have risen over the past year due to geopolitical disruptions, lifting domestic production costs for DAP. Exporting countries have also begun tightening shipments, adding to India’s challenges.

 

Cost and freight prices for phosphoric acid, earlier at $948–1,060 per tonne in 2024-25 (FY25), now stand at $1,153–1,258 per tonne during Kharif 2025. Rock phosphate, quoted at $205–230 per tonne in FY25, is currently at $200–230 per tonne this kharif season.

 

Iffco posted a turnover of ₹41,244 crore in FY25, with profit after tax at ₹2,823 crore. In the same period, it produced 9.31 mt of nitrogenous and complex fertilisers, while sales reached 11.38 mt. The co-operative also produced 45.6 million bottles of nano fertilisers and sold 36.5 million bottles.

 

IFFCO to launch nano granular NPK soon; sales to pick up once awareness spreads among farmers, says Patel

 

 

IFFCO Managing Director KJ Patel said sales of the flagship nano urea and nano DAP will go up significantly once awareness spreads among farmers and misgivings are removed. He said IFFCO itself is now making nano granular NPK, which will be out for trials soon. It is a granular form of nano that will target the roots and not the foliar. He said against the requirement of a 50-kg bag of NPK, nano NPK would do the same work in less than 5 kg.

 

Patel also said the recent Central decision to again test the efficacy of nano products jointly with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) over the next five years is meant to analyse results of all nano products, and not just IFFCO’s. Patel said the tests will be conducted in 25 different centres across India in different zones.

 

The current production capacity of nano products is almost 29 crore bottles of 500 ml each, but actual sales so far have been less than 4 crore bottles a year. In FY26, he said sales will also be around 3.5 crore bottles.