Indian fertilizer firms are looking at the virgin Peruvian desert deposits for raw material sourcing. Indians prefer partnership with specialised players in exploration or international trading. Sources said a couple of others are also in talks with such entrenched players for an entry.
IFFCO was the first mover into Peru in 2009 followed by Zuari Industries in December last. Zuari of the Adventz Group rode piggyback on its joint venture with Mitsubishi Corporation for a 30 per cent stake in mining company Fosfatos del Pacifico SA (Fospac),Fospac is currently executing a project that has an estimated reserve of about 540 tonnes of phosphate rock in the same region.
The project is expected to have an initial production capacity of 2.5 million tonnes of which Zuari would get 50 per cent.