URALCHEM Trading SIA is certified within FIAS

London, UK 17 May, 2011. URALCHEM Trading SIA, Latvia (a subsidiary of Uralchem, OJSC) has successfully passed FIAS (Fertiliser Industry Assurance Scheme) certification. FIAS is a joint UK industry and government initiative designed to ensure legislative compliance, security, traceability, safety and good practice in the mineral fertiliser supply chain.

The companys efforts have been recognised by the UK-based Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC), the leading association in the agri-supply industry and managers of the scheme. The AIC are delighted that Uralchem have been certified to FIAS as they are an important part of the fertiliser industry supply chain. Uralchem is the first non-UK company to be certified to FIAS which may act as a conduit for other companies within Europe to join FIAS if they so wish” said Eileen Pullinger, Head of the Fertiliser Sector of the AIC.

Talking about the certification results, Graham Dunn, the URALCHEM Trading SIA agent in Great Britain, said, Our accreditation will be seen by the Industry at large in a very positive manner and will substantially support our drive to be a leading manufacturer of plant nutrients for UK Agriculture.

Anton Tynnikov, URALCHEMs Senior International Projects Manager said, In order to comply with FIAS, we have developed operating procedures and a risk evaluation system that can be demonstrated to a variety of different certifying organizations. They can also be applied to ensure proper documentation for all of our foreign trade operations. This will be an invaluable instrument for our company in the future. The UKs leadership in this area has greatly helped our own standing in the global market.

Going into the future, the FIAS certification efforts made by the company will be increasingly important as the European Commission has started to define an equivalent pan-European system built around elements of existing schemes, including FIAS. Early compliance with any future EU standards will give URALCHEM a significant competitive advantage in the wider European fertiliser market.

Reference information:

FIAS was launched on 9th January 2006 and assures fertiliser security and traceability in the industry supply chain. The UK government encouraged and supported this industry initiative as an alternative to further legislation. AIC manages the development and implementation of the scheme under the supervision of the FIAS Steering Group, which has representatives from government and industry stakeholders.

FIAS CERTIFICATION Q & A

1. How long did it take URALCHEM to get certified within FIAS? Who initiated the process?

The process was initiated by mutual agreement between URALCHEM and the Agricultural Industries Confederation in the framework of our membership in this organization. The assessment took as long as one work day, because the auditor identified no deficiencies in our system and therefore no further actions were needed. The development of the system itself took approximately 3 months. This included our study of the AIC standards, guidance documents and the applicable legislation, as well as generation of internal standard operation procedures, risk assessment and other supporting documents, such as forms, reports, etc. This period can be shortened if the person in charge of the development of the system is dedicated solely to this purpose. It is also to be noted that only our trading division was subject to certification. For entities that are directly involved in production, storage, or transport, the preparation activities will probably require more time.

2. Did you have to change a lot in the business processes in order to comply with FIAS?

URALCHEM is a responsible supplier, and compliance with regulations of the countries and regions that buy our products means extremely much to us. That said, our existing practice at the moment of initiation of the FIAS process did not differ much from what was required. We only needed to formalize our activities and make sure every individual involved knew where to look for the path forward in case of any question or doubt regarding the correctness, legitimacy or safety of our operations.

3. Are you planning to mention the certificate only in the UK market or in other markets as well?

Although FIAS is a UK scheme, the major portion of the fertilizer business is regulated at the international and the EU levels rather than the national ones. Therefore, our accreditation will basically be a sure sign for all of our partners that we know what were doing and were doing it right.

4. What other European suppliers are certified within FIAS as of today?

Over 80% of the whole UK fertilizer business is FIAS-certified. We are currently the first and only continental company to have joined the scheme. However, a similar system is now being discussed by the European Commission at the EU level. To our knowledge, the proposed system is substantially based on the FIAS principles and will have equal or less stringent requirements. Thus, URALCHEMs proactive approach is likely to result in little or no effort required to comply with the new scheme.

URALCHEM is one of the largest producers of nitrogen and phosphate fertilisers in Russia and the CIS with production capacities of over 2.5 million tonnes of ammonium nitrate, 2.2 million tonnes of ammonia, 0.8 million tonnes of MAP and DAP, 0.8 million tonnes of complex fertilisers and 0.5 million tonnes of urea. URALCHEM is the second largest ammonium nitrate producer in the world and number one in Russia. URALCHEMs key production assets include Kirovo-Chepetsk Chemical Works, OJSC in Kirovo-Chepetsk, Kirov region; Azot, OJSC in Berezniki, Perm region; Voskresensk Mineral Fertilisers, OJSC in Voskresensk, Moscow region.