What is the KRIBHCO Hazira complex and why is it strategically important?

The KRIBHCO Hazira Fertiliser Complex at Surat, Gujarat began commercial urea production in 1985–86 and was for many years India's largest single-location urea plant by installed capacity. It is a gas-based ammonia-urea complex — historically fed by natural gas from the Bombay High offshore fields via the Hazira-Bijaipur-Jagdishpur (HBJ) pipeline network and today from a mix of domestic and imported LNG. Hazira also hosts a bio-fertiliser plant, an ammonia storage and handling terminal, and R&D facilities. Strategically, Hazira anchors western-India urea supply into Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and southern states, and — because KRIBHCO is a cooperative — its production feeds directly into the cooperative distribution spine of PACS retail outlets under the DBT-fertiliser POS regime.

What is OMIFCO and what is KRIBHCO's stake?

Oman India Fertiliser Company SAOC (OMIFCO) is a landmark cooperative joint venture at Sur, Sultanate of Oman, incorporated in May 2003. Its equity is held 50% by Oman Oil Company (OOC), 25% by IFFCO and 25% by KRIBHCO. OMIFCO operates a large gas-based ammonia-urea complex on the Oman coast, with a long-term Urea Off-Take Agreement (UOTA) under which the Government of India (through the Department of Fertilizers) buys the bulk of OMIFCO's urea output for import back to India. For KRIBHCO, OMIFCO is both an equity investment and a strategic supply channel — it means the cooperative sector has an anchoring 50% stake in one of India's key contracted urea import streams alongside its domestic Hazira and Shahjahanpur production.

What are KRIBHCO's bio-fertiliser and seed activities?

KRIBHCO's Bio-Fertilizer Plant at Hazira manufactures nitrogen-fixing and phosphate-solubilising bio-inoculants — Rhizobium (for pulses and legumes), Azotobacter and Azospirillum (for cereals), Phosphate Solubilising Bacteria (PSB), Potash Mobilising Bacteria (KMB) and mycorrhiza — sold in liquid and carrier-based formulations. These bio-fertilisers are qualifying inputs under Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) and the Mission Organic Value Chain Development for the North East Region (MOVCDNER), and are a natural pairing with the National Cooperative Organics Limited (NCOL) agenda. Through its Seed Division, KRIBHCO produces and distributes certified and hybrid seeds of paddy, wheat, maize, pulses, oilseeds, cotton and vegetables — feeding into the Bharatiya Beej Sahakari Samiti Limited (BBSSL) cooperative seed ecosystem.

KRIBHCO — Krishak Bharati Cooperative Limited: India's Second-Largest Fertiliser Cooperative, Hazira Gas-Based Urea Complex, OMIFCO Joint Venture, KRIBHCO Shyam Fertilisers and the Cooperative Route to Urea, Bio-Fertilisers and Nano Urea

Krishak Bharati Cooperative Limited (KRIBHCO) is a multi-state cooperative society registered on 17 April 1980 under what is today the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002, and is one of the two flagship cooperative-sector fertiliser manufacturers of India — the other being IFFCO, the older and larger cooperative registered in 1967. KRIBHCO's flagship is its Hazira gas-based urea and ammonia complexin Surat district, Gujarat — historically one of India's largest single-location urea plants, commissioned in 1985–86. It also runs the KRIBHCO Shyam Fertilisers Limited (KSFL) urea unit at Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, and holds a 25% stake in Oman India Fertiliser Company (OMIFCO)at Sur, Oman — a strategic urea joint venture with IFFCO (25%) and Oman Oil Company (50%). This page covers KRIBHCO's legal form, the Hazira and Shahjahanpur plants, the OMIFCO JV, its bio-fertiliser and seed lines, its cooperative distribution spine through the PACS network and the DBT-fertiliser POS system, and its role in the current PM-PRANAM, nano-fertiliser and BBSSL agenda.

Legal form, ownership and reporting

KRIBHCO is not a Government of India company. It is a cooperative society registered under multi-state cooperative law — originally the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 1984, and today the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002. The society is owned by its member cooperatives — primary agricultural credit societies (PACS), central cooperative banks, district and state cooperative federations and specialised cooperatives across India. Farmers who are members of a member PACS have an indirect ownership stake and a downstream share in the cooperative surplus. Governance is by an elected Board of Directors drawn from the member cooperatives, with a Managing Director as the chief executive. The registered and corporate office is at Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Regulation of fertiliser production, notification and quality control is done by the Department of Fertilizers under the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, while cooperative-society matters are handled by the Ministry of Cooperation (created 6 July 2021).

The Hazira Fertiliser Complex — the flagship

The KRIBHCO Hazira Fertiliser Complex in Surat district, Gujarat began commercial production in 1985–86and was for many years India's largest single-location urea plant. It is a gas-based ammonia-urea complex — historically fed by natural gas from the Bombay High offshore fields via the Hazira-Bijaipur-Jagdishpur (HBJ) trunk pipeline and today from a mix of domestic APM gas and imported LNG. Hazira produces:

Granular urea (46% N) sold at the statutory MRP of ₹266.50 per 45 kg bag, with the manufacturer subsidy paid through the DBT-fertiliser POS system after the retail sale is recorded.
Captive ammonia — the intermediate feedstock for urea and an increasingly valuable input for downstream nitrogen chemistry.
Bio-fertilisers — a dedicated Bio-Fertilizer Plant at Hazira produces liquid and carrier-based Rhizobium, Azotobacter, Azospirillum, PSB, KMB and mycorrhiza formulations.
Specialty and water-soluble fertilisers — including sulphur bentonite, zinc-fortified urea and NPK complex blends used under fertigation systems supported by Per Drop More Crop.

The complex anchors western-India urea supply into Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and — through onward rail movement — into the southern states. Combined with its cooperative peer IFFCO, the cooperative sector accounts for a substantial share of India's total urea and complex-fertiliser output.

KRIBHCO Shyam Fertilisers Limited (KSFL), Shahjahanpur

KRIBHCO Shyam Fertilisers Limited (KSFL)is the urea and ammonia unit at Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh acquired from Shriram Fertilizers and Chemicals and now operated within the KRIBHCO group. KSFL adds a second urea production base to KRIBHCO's Hazira flagship and gives it a natural logistical footprint into the Indo-Gangetic plain — Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand and the eastern states. Together the two plants underpin KRIBHCO's cooperative-sector share of India's roughly 36 million tonnes of annual granular urea consumption.

OMIFCO — the Oman India Fertiliser Company joint venture

Oman India Fertiliser Company SAOC (OMIFCO) is a landmark cooperative-anchored joint venture at Sur, Sultanate of Oman, incorporated in May 2003. Its equity is held:

Oman Oil Company (OOC) — 50%
IFFCO — 25%
KRIBHCO — 25%

OMIFCO operates a large gas-based ammonia-urea complex on the Oman coast, and under a long-term Urea Off-Take Agreement (UOTA)the Government of India through the Department of Fertilizers buys the bulk of OMIFCO's urea output for import back to India. For KRIBHCO, OMIFCO is both an equity investment and a strategic supply anchor — it means the cooperative sector jointly holds a 50%stake in one of India's key contracted urea import streams alongside its domestic Hazira and Shahjahanpur production, materially deepening cooperative-sector influence in India's fertiliser value chain.

Bio-fertilisers, seeds and specialty products

Beyond urea, KRIBHCO has actively diversified into inputs that align with India's natural-farming and organic transitions:

Bio-fertilisers. The KRIBHCO Bio-Fertilizer Plant at Hazira manufactures nitrogen-fixing and phosphate-solubilising bio-inoculants — Rhizobium for pulses and legumes, Azotobacter and Azospirillum for cereals, Phosphate Solubilising Bacteria (PSB), Potash Mobilising Bacteria (KMB) and mycorrhiza — in both liquid and carrier-based formulations. These are qualifying inputs under Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) and the MOVCDNER north-east organic push, and are a natural pairing with the National Cooperative Organics Limited (NCOL) agenda.
Seed Division. KRIBHCO produces and distributes certified and hybrid seeds of paddy, wheat, maize, pulses, oilseeds, cotton and vegetables — feeding into the Bharatiya Beej Sahakari Samiti Limited (BBSSL) cooperative seed ecosystem and complementing publicly certified seed from State Seed Corporations and SATHI-registered producers.
DAP, NPK complexes and MOP.Sourced from KRIBHCO's allocations and imports, sold at Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS)-notified rates via the same PACS and dealer channels as urea.
Sulphur bentonite, zinc-fortified urea and specialty inputs for micronutrient management and soil-health-card-guided use — see soil health.

Cooperative distribution — from plant to PACS to farmer

KRIBHCO fertiliser reaches the farmer through FCO-licensed dealers — private, public-sector and cooperative — but the cooperative-sector spine is the network of about 1.05 lakh Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) being modernised under the PACS Computerizationproject of the Ministry of Cooperation. A PACS registered as a fertiliser dealer receives allocation from KRIBHCO's zonal warehouse, sells to the farmer at the statutory MRP (₹266.50 per 45 kg bag of urea; NBS-notified rates for DAP and NPKs), and records the sale on the DBT-fertiliser Point of Sale (POS)machine against the buyer's Aadhaar-linked farmer identity. The per-tonne manufacturer subsidy is released to KRIBHCO only after the POS sale record is transmitted, closing the loop between physical delivery to a real farmer and release of central subsidy.

PM-PRANAM, nano fertilisers and KRIBHCO's bio-fertiliser hedge

Under the PM-PRANAM saved-subsidy scheme, states that reduce chemical-fertiliser consumption keep 50% of the resulting reduction in central fertiliser subsidy as a grant for cooperative and natural-farming investment. This directly affects the future volume of granular urea and DAP that cooperative manufacturers like KRIBHCO and IFFCO will sell. KRIBHCO's bio-fertiliser lines at Hazira and its readiness to scale nano-fertiliser and specialty products are the strategic hedge — a transition from bulk subsidised urea to differentiated, higher-value inputs that align with the natural-farming and organic push under PKVY, NMNF and NCOL. Compared with IFFCO, whose nano-urea rollout (see nano fertilisers) is the dominant public face, KRIBHCO's public positioning leans on bio-fertilisers and hybrid seeds — but both cooperatives are converging on the same substitution logic that PM-PRANAM incentivises.

KRIBHCO in the Ministry of Cooperation ecosystem

Since the Ministry of Cooperation was created on 6 July 2021, KRIBHCO has been a partner in the ministry's cooperative-strengthening agenda alongside IFFCO. It supplies urea and bio-fertilisers through the PACS Computerization network, is a natural input anchor for the three new pan-India cooperatives — National Cooperative Organics Limited (NCOL), National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL) and Bharatiya Beej Sahakari Samiti Limited (BBSSL) — and participates in the broader cooperative-strengthening agenda financed by NCDC. For dairy cooperatives the parallel anchor is NDDB; for fisheries cooperatives, NFDB; for procurement cooperatives, NAFED and FCI.

How to engage with KRIBHCO

For an individual farmer, the practical touchpoints are: buy fertiliser, bio-fertiliser or seed at any FCO-licensed dealer, PACS retail counter or KRIBHCO Kisan Seva Kendraand insist on the printed DBT-fertiliser POS receipt; attend KRIBHCO's farmer field days, Krishi Melas and extension camps for demonstrations of bio-fertiliser dose-and-application, hybrid-seed performance and specialty-input use. For a cooperative society, membership applications go through the Membership department at KRIBHCO headquarters (Noida, Uttar Pradesh) and the concerned apex state cooperative federation — membership entitles the society to attend the General Body and to elect directors. For a Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO) registered under the 10,000 FPO scheme, KRIBHCO is an input-aggregation partner, a bio-fertiliser demonstration partner and a seed-multiplication collaborator. All product, plant, dealer-locator and membership information is on the official portal at kribhco.net.

IFFCO

The older and larger cooperative fertiliser giant (registered 1967) — five plants at Kalol, Kandla, Phulpur, Aonla, Paradeep and the anchor of India's nano-urea rollout.

Nano Urea & Nano DAP

Deep-dive on India's nano-fertiliser rollout — IFFCO Nano Urea (world's first, June 2021), Nano Urea Plus, Nano DAP and where cooperatives like KRIBHCO fit in.

PM-PRANAM

Saved-subsidy grant to states that reduce chemical-fertiliser use — the reason KRIBHCO is investing in bio-fertilisers as its strategic hedge.

PACS Computerization

Ministry of Cooperation project modernising ~1.05 lakh PACS — the cooperative retail spine that distributes KRIBHCO fertiliser, bio-fertiliser and seed.

BBSSL

Bharatiya Beej Sahakari Samiti Limited — the pan-India cooperative seed body that KRIBHCO's Seed Division feeds into.

NCOL

National Cooperative Organics Limited — the demand anchor for organic and bio-fertiliser inputs that KRIBHCO manufactures at Hazira.

References

kribhco.net — KRIBHCO official portal: plant profiles (Hazira, Shahjahanpur/KSFL), product portfolio, board of directors, annual reports and dealer locator.
fert.nic.in — Department of Fertilizers, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers: DBT-fertiliser POS system, statutory urea MRP, NBS rates and OMIFCO Urea Off-Take Agreement.
cooperation.gov.in — Ministry of Cooperation: PACS computerisation, cooperative-sector strengthening and new pan-India cooperatives (NCOL, NCEL, BBSSL).
Press Information Bureau (PIB) — official releases on cooperative-sector reforms, PM-PRANAM (Cabinet approval 28 June 2023), NCOL, NCEL and BBSSL.

Frequently asked questions

What is KRIBHCO and how is it different from IFFCO?: KRIBHCO — Krishak Bharati Cooperative Limited — is a multi-state cooperative society registered on 17 April 1980 under what is today the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002, and is one of the two flagship cooperative-sector fertiliser manufacturers of India, the other being IFFCO (Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited, registered 3 November 1967). Both are owned by their member cooperatives — PACS, central cooperative banks, state cooperative federations and specialised cooperatives — rather than by the Government of India. IFFCO is the older and larger cooperative, operating five plants at Kalol, Kandla, Phulpur, Aonla and Paradeep; KRIBHCO's flagship is its single gigantic gas-based urea and ammonia complex at Hazira in Surat district of Gujarat, commissioned in 1985–86, plus its stake in the KRIBHCO Shyam Fertilisers Limited (KSFL) urea unit at Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, and the OMIFCO joint venture at Sur, Oman.
What does KRIBHCO manufacture and where?: KRIBHCO's flagship is the Hazira gas-based urea and ammonia complex in Surat district, Gujarat — historically one of India's largest single-location urea plants at commissioning in 1985–86 and expanded in phases since. Hazira produces urea (46% N) and captive ammonia, with additional lines for bio-fertilisers, sulphur bentonite and specialty products. KRIBHCO also runs KRIBHCO Shyam Fertilisers Limited (KSFL) — the urea unit at Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh acquired from Shriram Fertilizers — and holds 25% of Oman India Fertiliser Company (OMIFCO) at Sur, Oman (alongside IFFCO 25% and Oman Oil Company 50%) which produces urea and ammonia for import back to India under long-term offtake. Beyond urea, KRIBHCO manufactures nitrogen-fixing bio-fertilisers (Rhizobium, Azotobacter, Azospirillum, PSB), sells hybrid seeds through its seed division, and distributes NPK complexes, DAP and MOP through its dealer and PACS network.
What is the KRIBHCO Hazira complex and why is it strategically important?: The KRIBHCO Hazira Fertiliser Complex at Surat, Gujarat began commercial urea production in 1985–86 and was for many years India's largest single-location urea plant by installed capacity. It is a gas-based ammonia-urea complex — historically fed by natural gas from the Bombay High offshore fields via the Hazira-Bijaipur-Jagdishpur (HBJ) pipeline network and today from a mix of domestic and imported LNG. Hazira also hosts a bio-fertiliser plant, an ammonia storage and handling terminal, and R&D facilities. Strategically, Hazira anchors western-India urea supply into Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and southern states, and — because KRIBHCO is a cooperative — its production feeds directly into the cooperative distribution spine of PACS retail outlets under the DBT-fertiliser POS regime.
How does KRIBHCO's cooperative distribution actually work at the village?: KRIBHCO fertiliser reaches the farmer through FCO-licensed dealers — private, public-sector and cooperative — but the cooperative-sector spine is the network of about 1.05 lakh Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) being modernised under the PACS Computerization project of the Ministry of Cooperation. A PACS registered as a fertiliser dealer receives allocation from KRIBHCO's zonal warehouse, sells to the farmer at the statutory MRP (₹266.50 per 45 kg bag of urea; NBS-notified rates for DAP and NPKs), and records the sale on the DBT-fertiliser Point of Sale (POS) machine against the buyer's Aadhaar-linked identity. The per-tonne manufacturer subsidy is released to KRIBHCO only after the POS sale record is transmitted, closing the loop between physical delivery to a real farmer and release of central subsidy.
What is OMIFCO and what is KRIBHCO's stake?: Oman India Fertiliser Company SAOC (OMIFCO) is a landmark cooperative joint venture at Sur, Sultanate of Oman, incorporated in May 2003. Its equity is held 50% by Oman Oil Company (OOC), 25% by IFFCO and 25% by KRIBHCO. OMIFCO operates a large gas-based ammonia-urea complex on the Oman coast, with a long-term Urea Off-Take Agreement (UOTA) under which the Government of India (through the Department of Fertilizers) buys the bulk of OMIFCO's urea output for import back to India. For KRIBHCO, OMIFCO is both an equity investment and a strategic supply channel — it means the cooperative sector has an anchoring 50% stake in one of India's key contracted urea import streams alongside its domestic Hazira and Shahjahanpur production.
What are KRIBHCO's bio-fertiliser and seed activities?: KRIBHCO's Bio-Fertilizer Plant at Hazira manufactures nitrogen-fixing and phosphate-solubilising bio-inoculants — Rhizobium (for pulses and legumes), Azotobacter and Azospirillum (for cereals), Phosphate Solubilising Bacteria (PSB), Potash Mobilising Bacteria (KMB) and mycorrhiza — sold in liquid and carrier-based formulations. These bio-fertilisers are qualifying inputs under Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) and the Mission Organic Value Chain Development for the North East Region (MOVCDNER), and are a natural pairing with the National Cooperative Organics Limited (NCOL) agenda. Through its Seed Division, KRIBHCO produces and distributes certified and hybrid seeds of paddy, wheat, maize, pulses, oilseeds, cotton and vegetables — feeding into the Bharatiya Beej Sahakari Samiti Limited (BBSSL) cooperative seed ecosystem.
How is KRIBHCO connected to the Ministry of Cooperation and the current cooperative agenda?: Since the Ministry of Cooperation was created on 6 July 2021, KRIBHCO — as one of the two flagship cooperative-sector fertiliser manufacturers — has been a partner in the ministry's cooperative-strengthening agenda: it supplies urea and bio-fertilisers through the PACS computerisation network, is a natural demand and input anchor for the new pan-India cooperatives National Cooperative Organics Limited (NCOL), National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL) and Bharatiya Beej Sahakari Samiti Limited (BBSSL), and its bio-fertiliser and organic-input lines position it as a scheme partner for PKVY, NMNF and the MOVCDNER natural-farming push. KRIBHCO is also a stakeholder in the industry response to PM-PRANAM, which rewards states for reducing chemical-fertiliser use, and is scaling up nano-fertiliser and bio-fertiliser lines to sustain revenue as granular urea consumption plateaus.
How can a farmer, a cooperative or an FPO engage with KRIBHCO?: Individual farmers engage with KRIBHCO through any FCO-licensed dealer, PACS retail counter or KRIBHCO Kisan Seva Kendra for fertiliser, bio-fertiliser and seed purchase and can subscribe to KRIBHCO's farmer advisory outreach (agri clinics, Krishi Melas, extension camps). Cooperative societies apply for KRIBHCO membership through the Membership department at KRIBHCO headquarters (Noida, Uttar Pradesh) and the concerned apex state cooperative federation — membership entitles the society to attend the General Body and to elect directors. Farmer Producer Organisations registered under the 10,000 FPO scheme can partner with KRIBHCO for input aggregation, bio-fertiliser demonstrations, seed multiplication and organic-input supply. All product, plant, dealer-locator and membership information is on the official portal at kribhco.net.

The registration date of 17 April 1980, Hazira commissioning in 1985–86, OMIFCO 25% cooperative stake alongside IFFCO 25% and Oman Oil Company 50%, KRIBHCO Shyam Fertilisers (KSFL) Shahjahanpur acquisition and the bio- fertiliser and seed portfolio above draw on publicly available material on kribhco.net, PIB releases, the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers portal fert.nic.in and the Ministry of Cooperation portal cooperation.gov.in. KRIBHCO's capacities, MRPs, NBS rates and OMIFCO offtake volumes are periodically revised — confirm current values on the official portals before making purchase, supply or registration decisions.