Yara establishes mineral fertilizer venture with Indias Kribhco.

Yara International and Indian company Kribhco established a 50/50 joint venture in April 2007 to produce and market mineral fertilizer for the fast-growing Indian market.

Under the joint venture, Yara and Kribhco are establishing an Indian production base through a combined strategy of buying existing production facilities and importing fertilizers. A foreign production base is also being set up, in an area where raw materials are competitively priced.

 Kribhco, an abbreviation of Krishak Bharati Cooperative Limited, is India’s largest agricultural cooperative and is 67 % owned by the Indian state. Its members include more than 7,000 local agricultural cooperatives.

Yara brings NPK expertise to joint venture
The joint venture will introduce the balanced application of the N, P and K types of plant nutrients into the Indian market. Until this agreement was signed, Indian farmers had not been able to apply sufficient quantities of P and K.

N (nitrogen) promotes leaf growth and forms proteins and chlorophyll, P (phosphorus) contributes to root, flower and fruit development while K (potassium) contributes to stem and root growth and the synthesis of proteins.

"Our new partnership with Kribhco is a strong fit between their distribution position in one of the world’s biggest and fastest growing fertilizer markets, and our global sourcing and leadership on NPKs", President and CEO of Yara International Thorlief Enger said when the agreement was announced.
 
India is the world’s third biggest fertilizer market and is growing strongly. During recent years, market growth has been supplied by increased imports.