Tata Chemicals will focus on producing those fertilisers which are totally decontrolled and do not involve any subsidy element as it leads to increase in finance cost, a top company official said today.

“At present, we have no plans at all for any expansion or any new capacity in fertilizer segment where subsidy is involved, as it leads to increase in finance costs. For our future plans we are looking at the specialty fertilisers,” Tata Chemicals Managing Director R Mukundan told PTI.

Mukundan was speaking on sidelines of the unveiling of book ‘Salt of the Earth: The Story of Tata Chemicals’, a chronicle of the company journey of last 75 years.

Tata Chemicals is engaged in various business including salt, pulses, water purifiers, soda cash, fertilisers and various other chemicals.

In fertilisers, Tata Chemicals produces urea in Babrala in Uttar Pradesh with total annual capacity of about one million tonnes and P&K fertilisers in Halidia in West Bengal with capacity of about 1.25 million tonnes per annum.

Specialty fertilisers like calcium nitrate are not controlled by the government, whereas urea is controlled and its price is fixed by the government at Rs 5,360 per tonne and the difference between cost of production and selling price is paid as subsidy.

In case of P&K fertilisers the companies are free to decide the price while subsidy is fixed by the government.

Speaking about the book he said, ”...the book ‘Salt of the Earth’ is about the numerous trials, tribulations, hopes and triumphs that the company has endured and experienced over the last 75 years. Most importantly, the book narrates how we reached where we are today,” Mukundan said.

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