Hyderabad, Coromandel International Ltd. today announced that it has signed a License Agreement with Shell Research Limited for the Shell Thiogro technology to produce ammonium phosphate based fertilisers containing elemental sulphur. This technology will be employed at the Visakhapatnam and may extend to Kakinada plants of Coromandel.

Shell Research Limited is an affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell plc., London and the Shell Thiogro technology is developed by Shell Sulphur Solutions, a global business unit of the Royal Dutch Shell group of companies.

Sulphur is an important nutrient for crops and the capability to add elemental sulphur to fertilisers through Shell Thiogro technology will allow Coromandel to produce a new range of products that offer greater agronomic value to Indian farmers. The Sulphur Enhanced Fertilisers (SEF) will contribute significantly towards addressing the sulphur deficiency in the soils in the addressable markets of Coromandel and thereby improve the agricultural yields in these regions.

The licensing of this technology links the efforts of Coromandel in developing new crop nutrient solutions for Indian agriculture with the efforts of Shell. This investment by Coromandel reflects its commitment towards meeting the challenges of higher food production through innovative technological solutions.

The agreement with Shell is another landmark step which Coromandel has taken to provide holistic crop nutrient solutions to the Indian Farmers. Sulphur Enhanced Fertilisers have a multitude of advantages in the form of balanced nutrition, ease of application, cost effectiveness, uniform distribution and enhanced nutrient efficiencies said Mr. V. Ravichandran, Managing Director of Coromandel International Limited. We are delighted to work with Shell , a global organisation of repute and which has developed vast technical knowledge in the area of sulphur enhanced fertilisers he added.

Notes to Editor

About Coromandel International Limited

Coromandel, a leading manufacturer of a wide range of fertilisers and crop protection products (technical and formulations), is a part of the Rs 13,617 Crores (USD 3.03 billion) Murugappa Group. The Company was incorporated in 1961, by the synergistic efforts of two major companies of the US - Chevron Chemical Company and International Minerals and Chemicals Corporation - and E.I.D. Parry (I) Ltd, a leading business house in India associated with agriculture. Coromandel markets around 2.9 million tonnes of phosphatic fertilisers, making it the leader in its addressable markets and the second-largest producer of phosphatic fertilisers in India.

Coromandel is known in the global agro-chemical market as the second-largest manufacturer of Malathion and only the second manufacturer of Phenthoate. Coromandels crop protection business produces over 35 types of insecticides, fungicides and herbicides that are marketed across the country and exported to many countries in South America, Western Africa, Middle East and South East Asia.

Coromandel aggressively entered the retail business setting up more than 420 retail centers in rural Andhra Pradesh. Coromandel also has JVs with global majors.

About Royal Dutch Shell plc

Royal Dutch Shell plc is incorporated in England and Wales, has its headquarters in The Hague and is listed on the London, Amsterdam, and New York stock exchanges. Shell companies have operations in more than 130 countries with businesses including oil and gas exploration and production; production and marketing of Liquefied Natural Gas and Gas to Liquids; manufacturing, marketing and shipping of oil products and chemicals and renewable energy projects including wind and solar power