India has proposed to explore the rich rock phosphate deposits in Syria to meet its needs for phosphate fertilisers. Syria has large reserves of rock phosphates which can be exploited for production of di-amonium phosphates (DAP), used as a fertiliser in agriculture.

A joint Syria-India Business Council is likely to identify areas of investment cooperation between the two countries. The forum will include at least 20 representatives from the industry on each side.

The visiting Syrian president, Bashar Al Assad Who Assad, who is leading a business delegation consisting of representatives from manufacturing, medical industry, cosmetic food and agro processing sectors, has called for bilateral trade and investment cooperation.

Speaking at an interaction with the Indian industry on Wednesday, Assad said, ?I invite you to explore opportunities for joint ventures and other collaboration in major areas, including infrastructure development, energy production and mineral processing as well as IT education and training opportunities.? The interaction was jointly organised by the three apex India industry bodies ? CII, Ficci and Assocham.

Speaking to FE, the former director-general of Fertiliser Association of India, Pratap Narain, who is now the chairman emeritus of Sun International Ltd, said, ?It is a good opportunity for Indian industry to enter into joint ventures for production of DAP in Syria. We produced only 2.7 million tonne DAP against our annual needs of 7.5 million tonne. This is because there is no adequate rock phosphate in the country. It would be better if we enter into joint ventures in countries like Syria which have rich deposits of rock phosphates.?

China is one of the major exporter of DAP to India and with a view to discourage export of this fertiliser it has recently imposed an export tax of 135%. The global price of DAP is now averaging around $ 1350 a tonne.

India has a sound base for production of urea (nitrogen) fertiliser and produces about 20 million tonne and imports about 7 million tonne to meet its annual needs.

Global urea price ranges around $ 800 a tonne.