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Published 1st August 2007

ICL establishes Joint Venture With Zuari Industries in India for Production and Distribution of Water Soluble Fertilizers

Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL), announced on August 1st that it has embarked on a cooperative venture with Zuari Industries Ltd., to jointly establish and operate a soluble fertilizer production facility, and to carry out joint sales activities throughout India. Zuari is a member of the K.K. Birla Group, a multinational conglomerate based in India, and one of India's major producers and distributors of fertilizers and agricultural products. Under the framework of the agreement, ICL and Zuari will distribute water soluble fertilizers throughout India, and will jointly establish a water soluble NPK fertilizer plant with an initial capacity of 10,000 tons per year. The goal of the joint venture is to expand both companies' specialty fertilizer activities throughout the rapidly growing Indian market. Zuari will give ICL access to its top-tier sales, marketing and distribution channels as well as to its customer base in India, helping ICL to strengthen the regional sales of its Specialty Fertilizer product lines. Commenting on the news, Mr. Yossi Zidon, Senior VP of ICL's Specialty Fertilizers, said, "The rapid growth of agriculture in India, together with the local market's increasing use of intensive agricultural methods, represents an exciting opportunity for ICL Fertilizers. Indian sales of soluble fertilizers have been doubling each year since 2003, and we, as one of the world's leading providers of water soluble fertilizers, see an excellent opportunity in this country”.